Taliban Warns of Response as UN Confirms Civilian Casualties in Kunar

ISLAMABAD / Kabul, — September 22, 2026 — Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have intensified after Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Afghanistan’s Kunar and Paktika provinces, with Taliban officials condemning the attacks and warning that Afghanistan would respond. Pakistan says the strikes targeted militant hideouts linked to attacks inside Pakistan. (Dawn)

Pakistan's Information Ministry said the strikes were based on intelligence and targeted camps and hideouts belonging to militant groups responsible for recent attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistani authorities said 28 militants were killed in the operation. (Dawn)

Afghan authorities have rejected Pakistan's account and said the strikes hit civilian areas. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan confirmed that at least three civilians — a man, a woman and a girl — were killed and four others injured in apparent airstrikes in Kunar on September 21. (UNAMA)

Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the strikes and said Afghans would give an “appropriate response.” Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry also summoned Pakistan's chargé d'affaires in Kabul and delivered a formal protest, describing the strikes as a violation of Afghan sovereignty. (Afghanistan Foreign Ministry)

In Kunar, Afghan officials said a house in Nurgal district was struck early Monday, killing three members of one family and injuring four others. In Paktika's Barmal district, a shop and an unoccupied house were reportedly damaged, with no casualties reported there. (AP)

The strikes followed a series of deadly attacks in Pakistan. A suicide bombing and subsequent gun battle at a police compound in Kohat last week killed at least 21 people, mostly police officers, according to Pakistani officials. Pakistan has repeatedly accused militants operating from Afghan territory of carrying out attacks inside the country, while the Taliban government denies allowing Afghan soil to be used for such attacks. (AP)

The latest confrontation threatens to further strain relations after nearly three months of relative calm along the two countries' western frontier. Both sides continue to dispute the origins of militant violence and the circumstances surrounding the latest strikes, while the confirmed civilian casualties have added to international calls for protection of civilians during cross-border operations. (UNAMA)