KARACHI (Reuters) – Pakistan said it had launched attacks on militant targets in Afghanistan after blaming recent suicide bombings, including attacks during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, on militants operating from the neighboring country’s territory.
Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban said women and children were among the dozens killed and injured in Saturday’s attacks, but Reuters could not verify that. Its Defense Ministry vowed to respond.
The attack marked a sharp escalation in tensions, days after Kabul released three Pakistani soldiers brokered by Saudi Arabia to calm relations after months of conflict along the rugged border region.
Pakistan’s Information Ministry said on Sunday that the attack involved “selective intelligence-based targeting of seven terrorist camps and hideouts along the Afghan border belonging to the Pakistani Taliban and Islamic State in Khorasan Province”.
It added that it had “conclusive evidence” that earlier attacks on Pakistani soil were carried out by “Khwaraj” – the term for the Pakistani Taliban – on the instructions of “their leadership and managers in Afghanistan”.
Kabul has repeatedly denied allowing militants to use Afghan territory to launch attacks in Pakistan.
Afghanistan vows to respond
The Afghan Defense Ministry condemned what it called a blatant violation of sovereignty and a violation of international law, warning that “an appropriate and prudent response will be taken at the appropriate time.”
The foreign ministry said it had summoned Pakistan’s ambassador over violations of Afghan airspace and bombing of civilians, calling the attack a “provocative act.”
A Taliban spokesman said the attack killed and injured dozens of people, including women and children, but Reuters could not independently verify that statement.
Pakistan said the attacks, which included a mosque bombing in Islamabad and violence in the Bajaur and Bannu regions on its northwest border, were orchestrated in Afghanistan.
On Saturday, Pakistan’s military said a suicide bomber in those areas targeted a security forces convoy. Five militants were killed in the shootout, and two soldiers were killed when a vehicle packed with explosives crashed into a military vehicle.
Tensions have forced repeated closures of border crossings, disrupting trade and activity along the 2,600-kilometer (1,600-mile) border.
Clashes in October left dozens dead before a fragile ceasefire was agreed, but Pakistan continues to accuse Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers of harboring militants who carry out attacks in its territory – a claim Kabul denies.
(Reporting by Aliba Shahid in Karachi, Mushtaq Ali in Peshawar, Saud Masood in Dera Ismail Khan, Yunus Yawar and Saeed Hasib in Kabul; Writing by Lucy Kramer; Editing by Thomas Deppinghaus, Clarence Fernandez and Ross Russell)