Afghanistan launches drone strikes inside Pakistan
Afghanistan has carried out drone strikes inside Pakistan, just days after Islamabad launched border attacks that left 28 dead in the country.
The Afghan Defense Ministry claimed to have struck an Islamic State facility in Pakistan’s border province of Balochistan and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Pakistan’s military, however, said the drones were spotted immediately and neutralized. According to local authorities, however, two people were injured in a drone attack near a government school in Saranan, Reuters reported.
Afghanistan’s air force has limited attack capabilities, having no fighter or bomber planes. In comparison, Pakistan has a modern air force that flies American F-16 fighter jets and Chinese stealth fighters.
Pakistan carried out air and land attacks on Afghanistan’s border areas over the weekend. Islamabad termed its actions retaliation for “terrorist attacks” on its soil, the latest being an attack on a paramilitary facility in the port city of Karachi.
Afghanistan’s Taliban government has alleged that Pakistan’s attack hit civilian homes, putting the casualties at 36 civilians dead and more than 160 injured.
The Taliban government has repeatedly rejected Pakistan’s claim that it harbors terrorists.
The bombing of a mosque in Islamabad in February, which killed more than 30 people, also spurred retaliatory strikes by Pakistan. In March, a Pakistani attack on a drug rehabilitation center in Kabul killed hundreds of people.
