Taliban warn Pakistan after death of a woman and five children

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan condemns in the strongest possible terms the bombing and attack that took place from Pakistan on Afghan soilgovernment spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told reporters in an audio message.

” We implement all options to prevent repetition [de telles attaques] and ask that our sovereignty be respected. The Pakistani side must know that if a war breaks out, it will not be in the interest of either side. It will cause instability in the region. »

Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi earlier summoned Pakistan’s ambassador to Kabul to protest two attacks, which took place at dawn on the border between the two countries, one in Kunar, the another towards Khost.

” Five children and a woman were killed, and a man injured, by Pakistani rocket fire in Shelton district, Kunar. »

A resident of the district, Ehsanullah (he goes by a single name like many Afghans), confirmed the death toll, saying the attack was carried out by Pakistani military planes.

Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan last year, border tensions between the two countries have increased, with Pakistan claiming that armed groups, such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have been carrying out attacks since Afghan soil, across a notoriously porous border.

The Afghan Taliban deny sheltering Pakistani militants and denounce the fence that Islamabad erects to secure this long border of more than 2000 kilometers, known as the Durand line, a name inherited from the colonial era.

The second assault took place in Khost province, another Afghan official said.

Pakistani helicopters bombarded four villages near the Durand line in Khost province. Only civilian homes were targeted and there were casualtieshe said on condition of anonymity, without further details.

An Afghan tribal elder in Khost, Gul Markhan, confirmed the attack.

Footage of houses destroyed in the assault was broadcast by Tolo News, Afghanistan’s main private channel.

All those targeted were innocent civilians who had nothing to do with the Taliban or the governmentRasool Jan, a resident of Khost, told the channel.

We don’t know who our enemy is and why we were targetedhe added.

Hundreds of civilians also demonstrated in Khost, chanting anti-Pakistani slogans, according to photographs obtained by theFrance Media AgencyAFP.

In February, six Pakistani soldiers were killed by gunfire from the Tehreek-e-Taliban PakistanPTT from Afghanistan.