Pakistan says it has struck militant hideouts in Afghanistan’s Kandahar as fighting shows no let-up

Islamabad, Pakistan — Pakistan said on Sunday it had targeted militant hideouts in Afghanistan’s Kandahar region overnight as fighting between the two neighbors that erupted late last month showed no signs of abating.

Cross-border fighting between the two South Asian nations, which has included Pakistani airstrikes in the Afghan capital of Kabul, is still deadliest. Islamabad has referred to the conflict as an “open war”, adding to concerns about regional stability as the US-Israeli war with Iran spills over into the Middle East and beyond.

In a post on X, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the overnight raid in Kandahar hit military equipment storage facilities and “technical support infrastructure”.

Afghan government spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said Pakistan hit two sites: a site used by security personnel during the day that was empty at night and a drug rehabilitation center that was slightly damaged. There were no casualties, but the attacks showed that Pakistan “continues to attack and fuel the fires of war,” he said.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense said Sunday that it attacked a Pakistani army camp in Pakistan’s South Waziristan region in retaliation for the attack in Kandahar. It claimed that the attack destroyed most of the camp’s command center and other facilities and caused heavy casualties to the Pakistani military.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information dismissed the claim as “propaganda” and said the small drone was shot down, saying “no military installation or infrastructure was hit”.

Afghanistan said it had launched an operation into Pakistan across the border from Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, capturing a Pakistani military outpost and killing several soldiers. Pakistan has also rejected these allegations.

Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban rulers of supporting militant groups, particularly the Pakistani Taliban or Tehreek-e-Taliban, for carrying out attacks inside Pakistan. Afghanistan denies the accusation, insisting it does not allow its territory to be used against other countries.

The latest fighting erupted in late February, when Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan that it said killed only civilians. The clashes upended a Qatar-brokered ceasefire last October after fighting killed tens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants.

On Sunday, a mortar fired from Afghanistan destroyed a house in Bajaur, northwest Pakistan, killing four members of a family and injuring two others, local government official Adnan Khan said.

Both sides have accused the other of targeting civilians, and dozens have been killed.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said on Saturday that the Afghan government had “crossed a red line” by carrying out drone strikes on civilian areas in Pakistan, and hours later the country reportedly attacked an Afghan drone storage facility.

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Abdul Kahar Afghan reports from Kabul, Afghanistan. Associated Press writer Elena Bekatoros in Athens, Greece contributed to this report.