Photo courtesy of Anadolu
Pakistan’s military said Wednesday that it shot down four rudimentary drones launched from Afghanistan, while Kabul claimed it “successfully” targeted alleged ISIS (Daesh) camps inside Pakistan.
The developments come amid the latest tensions between the two neighbors following a militant attack on a security facility in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi and subsequent airstrikes last week by Islamabad targeting alleged terrorist camps inside Afghanistan.
In a statement, Pakistan’s army said its air defense network “immediately” detected and neutralized hostile aerial platforms launched by Afghan security forces on Tuesday in the southwestern Balochistan province “as part of their patronization and support of terrorist outfits operating from inside their controlled territories.”
“If the Afghan Taliban continue to provoke Pakistan, they would receive a befitting response which would cost them heavily,” the statement added.
The statement did not mention casualties, but local English daily Dawn, citing sources, reported that one woman was killed and another six were injured in a suspected drone strike in Peshawar, capital of the northwestern Khyber Phaktunkhwa province, on Tuesday night.
Afghan Defense Ministry spokesperson Siddiqullah Nusrat said the Afghan Air Force carried out airstrikes on alleged ISIS camps inside Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, inflicting “heavy casualties and material losses” on the terrorist group.
On US social media company X, Nusrat said the airstrikes were carried out with “great precision” and resulted in no civilian casualties.
Relations between the two neighbors have been strained following multiple militant attacks in Pakistan in recent years, which have led to several border clashes.
Islamabad accuses Kabul of allowing militants to use its territory. Afghanistan denies the allegations. (Anadolu)