'Will retaliate': Taliban warns Pakistan after airstrikes target hideouts in Afghanistan

The conflict between Pakistani forces and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) escalated after Pakistan targeted the latter's suspected hideouts in neighbouring Afghanistan on Tuesday, and TTP or Taliban Pakistan vowing retaliation.

While Pakistan has not officially confirmed the airstrikes, AP quoted security officers as saying that the airstrikes in Barmal, Paktika on the border, destroyed a training facility and killed several militants. With Pakistan military not divulging any details, it is unclear how the strikes were carried out and whether the jets entered deep into Afghanistan territory.

Taliban's defence ministry, however, condemned the attack, and said that "Waziristani refugees" were among those targeted. It has vowed to retaliate saying that defending their land and sovereignty is their legitimate right.

Tensions have been running high between the two countries since 2021 when the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan, having been kept out of power by a US-led military coalition.

'A brutal act', says Afghanistan

The Afghan defence ministry condemned the airstrikes, saying the bombing targeted civilians, including women and children. “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan considers this a brutal act against all international principles and blatant aggression and strongly condemns it,” the ministry said.

At least eight people were reportedly killed in the Pakistani airstrikes.

In a post on X, the Afghan defence ministry said that Pakistan should know that such unilateral measures are not a solution to any problem.

Pakistan versus Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan

TTP leaders, who got a shot in the arm with the seizing of power in Afghanistan by Afghan Taliban in 2021, are believed to be hiding in Afghan territory. Since 2022, when the TTP unilaterally ended a cease-fire with the government after talks hosted by Afghanistan's government in Kabul failed, it has carried out several attacks on Pakistani soldiers and police.

Last week, the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for an attack on a Pakistani army outpost in Makeen, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, some 40km from the Afghan border, which killed 16 soldiers and critically injured five.

According to the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies, more than 1,500 civilians, security forces and militants were killed by TTP last year—a six-year high. A UN Security Council report in July estimated there are around 6,500 TTP militants in Afghanistan.