What happened in Pakistan’s strikes on eastern Afghanistan on September 21, 2026?

Taliban authorities said Pakistani bombardment killed three civilians in Nurgal district in Kunar province and wounded four members of the same family. AFP journalists saw a house destroyed in Patan, and Pakistan said it had targeted terrorist hubs along the border.

Why did Pakistan say it launched the cross-border strikes in Afghanistan?

Pakistan’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry said the forces acted on credible intelligence and hit three locations along the border. It said the targets were terrorist hubs and claimed that 28 terrorists and multiple suicide bombers were killed.

How did Afghanistan and Pakistan describe the latest escalation?

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the attack as aggression and said Afghans would give it an appropriate response. The dispute comes amid long-running tensions since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and follows earlier Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan in June.

Pakistan launches deadly strikes on Afghanistan

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Summary

Pakistani bombardment killed three civilians in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, according to the Taliban authorities, while Islamabad said its forces targeted terrorist hubs along the border. AFP saw a house in rubble in Patan, Kunar province, where the victims were buried. The Taliban said the strike hit Nurgal district around 3:00 am and wounded four other family members. Pakistan said it struck three locations and killed 28 terrorists, a claim the Taliban rejected.

Key Facts

The Taliban said the strike in Nurgal district hit around 3:00 am and completely destroyed a house in Patan, Kunar province.
Mubin Khan said three members of his family died and that he was injured in the bombardment.
Pakistan’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry said forces struck three locations and killed 28 terrorists alongside multiple suicide bombers.
The strikes came after an attack on a police headquarters in northern Pakistan on Friday that killed at least 31 people, including 16 officers.
Pakistan previously carried out deadly airstrikes in Afghanistan in June, when it said it targeted a TTP faction and the Taliban reported civilian casualties.

By AFP

Published Sep 21, 2026 9:48 pm KST

People inspect the damage at the site of an alleged Pakistani airstrike in Noorgul district of Kunar, Afghanistan, 21 September 2026. EPA-Yonhap

PATAN, KUNAR, Afghanistan — Pakistani bombardment has killed three civilians in eastern Afghanistan, the Taliban authorities said on Monday, with Islamabad saying its forces had targeted "terrorist hubs" along the border.

AFP journalists saw a house in rubble in the village of Patan, where dozens of men gathered for the funerals of the victims of Pakistan's first deadly cross-border strikes since June.

Mubin Khan, a farmer who was injured in the latest bombardment, told AFP: "During the night we were targeted... the house got destroyed."

Khan said three members of his family died.

The Taliban government's deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said in a post on X that Nurgal district, where Patan is located, came under attack at around 3:00 am (2230 GMT on Sunday).

The strike "completely destroyed" a house, killing three and wounding four members of the same family, the spokesman said.

Two locations in Paktika province were also bombarded, Fitrat said, reporting no casualties.

Pakistan's Information and Broadcasting Ministry confirmed that forces had struck three locations, saying "terrorist hubs" along the border were targeted "based on credible intelligence".

The ministry said "28 terrorists alongside multiple suicide bombers" were killed, a figure rejected by the Taliban government, which said it was "not true".

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the "aggression" and said that "Afghans will give it an appropriate response."

The strikes follow an attack on a police headquarters in northern Pakistan on Friday that killed at least 31 people including 16 officers.

A local faction, Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, which is linked to the jihadist group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of supporting jihadist groups responsible for deadly attacks on its territory, an allegation the Taliban government in Afghanistan denies.

Pakistan's previous deadly airstrikes in Afghanistan occurred in June and killed around 30 people.

Pakistan said at the time it had targeted a TTP faction and killed fighters, while the Taliban government reported civilian casualties.

The two neighbours have had particularly tense relations since the Taliban authorities returned to power in 2021.

At the beginning of the year, Pakistan stepped up its bombings, including on the capital Kabul.

The deadliest strike, which occurred on March 16, hit a drug treatment hospital in the Afghan capital and killing at least 269 civilians, according to the United Nations.

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