Pakistani air‑ground strike in Afghanistan kills at least 40

A nighttime ground incursion and air raid by the Pakistani army in Afghanistan’s eastern provinces of Paktia, Paktika and Kunar resulted in at least 40 deaths. Pakistan’s information minister Attaullah Tarar said the operation destroyed terrorist nests and killed 29 militants, adding that “the campaign will continue without rest until the terrorist threat disappears.” The Afghan Taliban government reported civilian casualties, saying a bomb that hit a home in Paktia killed an elderly man and a child and left 28 dead and 158 injured, while a later house collapse in Paktika killed six more people, mostly women and children. The Taliban called the attack “a cowardly and brutal act of aggression.” Pakistan’s senior information official Hayatullah Mohajer Farahi warned that “there will be retaliation in due time.” The strike was presented as retaliation for a February attack on Pakistani Rangers in Karachi that killed three soldiers. The incident comes amid a broader escalation of border clashes that have left hundreds dead and tens of thousands displaced since the borders were closed in October, with both sides accusing the other of harboring the TTP and other militant groups.