Pakistani airstrikes kill at least 13 in Afghanistan

Pakistani military aircraft carried out airstrikes in Afghanistan’s border provinces of Kunar, Khost and Paktika, killing at least 13 civilians – 11 children, a woman and an elderly man – and wounding 14 others, according to local officials and the de‑facto Taliban government spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid. One strike hit a house in the Spera area of Khost, killing nine people and injuring ten, while another attack in Paktika caused three additional deaths.

The attacks are described as the deadliest in weeks after a period of relative calm that followed sporadic clashes and the escalation to open war at the end of February. A United Nations report released in May said 372 Afghan civilians had been killed in cross‑border hostilities between January 1 and March 31. The Pakistani army did not immediately comment on the incidents.