Afghan drones intercepted in multiple Pakistani cities, injuring at least four: military
Islamabad says rudimentary drones launched by the Afghan Taliban were intercepted in Quetta, Kohat and Rawalpindi, injuring four people including two children, as both sides continue to trade accusations following cross-border air strikes.
The Pakistani military said on Saturday that several rudimentary Afghan drones were intercepted in three locations across the country, leaving at least four people injured, including two children.
The "Afghan Taliban" launched several rudimentary drones on Friday “to harass the people of Pakistan,” but the drones were intercepted and did not reach their intended targets, the Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistan Army, said in a statement.
The military said the two injured children were in the southwestern city of Quetta in Balochistan. A civilian was injured in the Kohat district in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and another in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, adjacent to the capital Islamabad.
Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have deteriorated in recent weeks, with border tensions escalating last month and resulting in casualties and property damage.
Pakistan, which maintains it only targets terrorists, accuses Afghanistan of providing a haven to terrorists who attack its territory, while Kabul denies the charge.
Islamabad warned that the army’s “Ghazab-lil-Haq” operation would continue until the Afghan Taliban address Pakistan’s core security concerns.
There has been no reaction from Kabul to the Pakistani statement.
The statement came after the Afghan defence ministry claimed on Friday that it retaliated against Pakistani air strikes by targeting “strategic military centres and facilities” of the Pakistani army in the Kohat area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Earlier, Afghan officials said at least four people were killed and 15 injured in new air strikes they said were carried out by Pakistan and struck residential houses in Kabul.
Pakistan rejected the claim, however, saying its forces targeted “terrorist-affiliated installations” inside Afghanistan.
“Pakistan precisely targeted only those installations which directly or indirectly support terrorism from inside Afghanistan and terrorist camps. No civilian population or civilian infrastructure was targeted,” said Information Minister Attaullah Tarar.
With news of the new deaths in Afghanistan, the overall toll has risen to 99, including 13 soldiers and one civilian in Pakistan, and 13 soldiers and 72 civilians in Afghanistan.
According to UN data, 185 civilian casualties, including 56 deaths from indirect fire and aerial attacks, were reported in Afghanistan between February 26 and March 5.