Pakistan launches cross-border strikes in Afghanistan after suicide bombings

Pakistan said it carried out cross-border strikes on militant targets inside Afghanistan after blaming a series of recent suicide bombings, including attacks during the holy month of Ramadan, on fighters it said were operating from Afghan territory.

In a statement dated 21 February and released early on Sunday, Pakistan's foreign ministry said it had "conclusive evidence" that the attacks were carried out by what it calls Khwarij, its term for the Pakistani Taliban, acting on instructions from "their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers."

The statement said Pakistan conducted "intelligence based selective targeting of seven terrorist camps and hideouts" used by the Pakistani Taliban as well as Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) along the border with Afghanistan.

Among the incidents of strike Pakistan listed were a mosque bombing in Islamabad and violence in the northwestern border districts of Bajaur and Bannu.

The military said a suicide bomber in these districts targeted a convoy of security forces, killing five militants in a gun battle and two soldiers when an explosives-laden vehicle rammed into a military vehicle.

The operation marked a sharp escalation in tensions between Pakistan and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, days after Kabul released three Pakistani soldiers in a Saudi-mediated step meant to calm relations following months of clashes along the rugged frontier.

Kabul has repeatedly denied allowing militants to use Afghan territory to stage attacks inside Pakistan.

A Taliban spokesperson said the attacks had killed and injured dozens of people, including women and children, but Reuters was unable to independently verify the remarks.

Women and children were among the dozens killed and injured in Saturday's attacks, Taliban said.

Afghanistan's defence ministry condemned what it called the blatant violation of national sovereignty as a "breach of international law, the principles of good neighbourliness and Islamic values."

It added in its statement, "An appropriate and measured response will be taken at a suitable time."

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Tensions have repeatedly forced key border crossings to shut, interrupting trade and movement along the 2,600 -kilometre frontier.

Dozens were killed in clashes in October before the two sides agreed to a fragile ceasefire, but Pakistan continues to accuse Afghanistan's Taliban rulers of harbouring militants who stage attacks inside its territory, a claim Kabul denies.

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