HighLights
  1. Pakistan conducts new airstrikes in Afghanistan's territory.
  2. Targets include Kandahar and Khost's Gurbuz district.
  3. Follows previous attack that killed 28 Afghan civilians.

Kandhar/New Delhi: Days after Pakistan's security forces carried out airstrikes on Afghanistan, killing 28 civilians, a similar bombing was carried out in Kandahar and Gurbuz (Garbuz) district of Khost province on Thursday. According to local media, Khaama Press, the attacks by the Pakistani military regime took place in Gurbaz district and some other areas, but no one was injured. Citing its sources, it reported that the Pakistani military regime also carried out airstrikes on Kandahar early this morning.

Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, told Tolonews that no damage was caused in the attack by the Pakistani military regime.Although the sound of the explosion from this attack was intense and heard throughout all districts of Kandahar city, security officials have assured Kandahar residents that there is no cause for concern.

India's harrowing moments with Kandhar

It is harrowing to recall one of India's most tragic events, when Pakistan-sponsored terrorists hijacked an Indian Airlines plane mid-air on December 24, 1999. The plane was forced down in Amritsar, Lahore, and Dubai before landing in Kandahar. One passenger was brutally stabbed to death, with his body released during the stop in Dubai.

Pakistan says 10 sites were targetted

Pakistan said early Thursday that it had carried out airstrikes on 10 sites in Afghanistan that it said were used to launch drone attacks against Pakistan a day earlier, marking a sharp escalation between the neighbours that threatens mediation efforts by regional powers. However, it did not mention the places where the military dropped the bombs.

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Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar claimed the latest attacks were carried out after Afghanistan's Taliban forces had fired eight drones and shelled Pakistani border posts after Pakistani troops foiled what they described as a cross-border infiltration attempt by militants. However, the claims were rejected by the Taliban.

28 "civilians" killed in Pakistan's airstrike

Pakistan on Monday said its security forces carried out airstrikes on terrorist camps and hideouts in the border region with Afghanistan, killing 28 "terrorists", including multiple suicide bombers. However, Taliban shared images and vidoes of those killed in the attack and claimed the deceased were innocent civilians.

The Pakistan information ministry said the strikes followed a "well-planned intelligence-based" ground operation carried out by security forces in Kohat and Hangu districts of northwest Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The ground operation was followed by "calibrated air strikes" against hideouts and safe havens of terrorist organisations that Pakistan said were responsible for recent attacks in the province.

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"Based on credible intelligence, selective targeting of terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to Fitna al Khawarij and its affiliates has also been carried out in the border region with Afghanistan with precision and accuracy," the ministry said.

Fitna al-Khawarij is a term used by Pakistan's government and military to refer to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and associated militant groups.

The ministry said three targets were destroyed, including a training centre for suicide bombers, while large quantities of weapons and ammunition stored at the targeted centres and hideouts were also destroyed.

Pakistan's claim that 28 terrorists were killed could not be independently verified. The strikes came after deadly attacks on security forces and police personnel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in recent days. A terrorist attack on a police facility in Kohat last week killed at least 21 people, including 15 police personnel, according to Pakistani authorities. Several people were also injured.

(With inputs from agency)

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