Afghanistan has announced that it carried out air strikes inside Pakistan, targeting what it described as hideouts used by armed groups and “hostile intelligence circles.”
According to Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry, the strikes were launched on Thursday night and targeted locations in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, provinces bordering Afghanistan.
The ministry said the sites, which it identified as bases of Islamic State – Khorasan Province, were allegedly being used in cooperation with “hostile intelligence circles” to plan attacks against Afghanistan, in an apparent reference to Pakistani intelligence agencies.
According to the statement, the strikes targeted the Gulistan area of Qila Abdullah district and the Shakar Ab area of Chaghi district in Balochistan, as well as the Qambar Khel area of Orakzai district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The incident marks the latest escalation between the two neighbouring countries, despite ongoing efforts led by China to preserve a fragile ceasefire.