IRIA News

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Pakistan carried out multiple overnight air strikes inside Afghanistan in the early hours of February 22, 2026, targeting what it described as militant camps and hideouts linked to a wave of recent suicide attacks, including a deadly bombing at a mosque in Islamabad.

Afghan authorities said the strikes killed and wounded dozens of civilians, including women and children, and warned of an “appropriate and measured response.”

The cross-border operation marks the most extensive escalation since deadly clashes in October left more than 70 people dead on both sides and wounded hundreds, pushing relations between the two neighbors to their lowest point since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said the military conducted “intelligence-based selective targeting of seven terrorist camps and hideouts” along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

In a statement posted on X, the ministry said the targets included members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it referred to as “Fitna al Khawarij,” along with their affiliates and the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP), an affiliate of the Islamic State group.

Press Release
21 February, 2026

In the aftermath of recent suicide bombing incidents in Pakistan, including Imam Bargah at Islamabad, one each in Bajaur and Bannu followed by another incident today in Bannu during the holy month of Ramzan, Pakistan has conclusive evidence that…

— Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (@MoIB_Official) February 21, 2026

The ministry described the strikes as “a retributive response” to recent suicide bombings in Pakistan and said it had “conclusive evidence” that the attacks were carried out by militants acting on instructions from their leadership in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban authorities in Kabul of failing to prevent armed groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks across the border. Islamabad said it had urged Kabul on multiple occasions to take action but that the Taliban had failed to “undertake any substantive action.”

The ministry added that Pakistan “has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region,” but said the safety and security of its citizens remained its top priority. It also called on the international community to press the Taliban to uphold commitments made under the 2020 Doha agreement, under which Afghan soil was not to be used to threaten other countries.

Afghanistan Says Civilians Killed

Afghan officials said the strikes hit civilian areas in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika. The Taliban’s defense ministry condemned the operation as a “blatant violation of Afghanistan’s territorial integrity” and a “clear breach of international law.”

According to Afghan authorities, the strikes hit residential homes and a religious school, “resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries, including women and children.”

In Nangarhar’s Bihsud district, a journalist reported seeing residents using a bulldozer to search through rubble after a house was destroyed. An Afghan security source said 17 people were killed when a home was targeted, including 12 children and teenagers.

In Girdi Kas village in Bihsud, a resident named Shahabuddin told reporters that of 23 members of his family, only five survived the strike. A local Taliban spokesman said 18 members of the family were killed. Earlier estimates had put the death toll in that incident at around 20.

Afghan officials said no deaths were reported in some other areas struck. In Paktika province’s Bermal and Urgun districts, a guesthouse and a religious school were targeted, but local officials and residents said they were empty at the time.

The Taliban’s defense ministry warned that “an appropriate and measured response will be taken at a suitable time,” adding that “attacks on civilian targets and religious institutions indicate the failure of Pakistan’s army in intelligence and security.”

Government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid accused Pakistan’s military leadership of trying to “compensate for their country’s security weaknesses through such crimes.”

Wave of Attacks in Pakistan

The air raids followed a series of deadly attacks inside Pakistan. Earlier this month, a suicide bomber detonated explosives during noon prayers at the Khadija Tul Kubra mosque in Islamabad’s Tarlai Kalan area, killing at least 31 worshippers and wounding around 170 others.

The ISKP claimed responsibility for the attack. Other reports put the death toll at 40, describing it as the deadliest attack in Islamabad since 2008.

In recent days, additional suicide bombings have targeted security forces in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. A suicide bomber attacked a security convoy in Bannu district, killing two soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel.

In Bajaur, an explosives-laden vehicle was rammed into a security post, killing 11 soldiers and a child. Authorities later said the attacker in that incident was an Afghan national.

Pakistan’s military previously said that the “planning, training, and indoctrination for the attack took place in Afghanistan.”

Islamabad has seen a surge in violence in recent years, much of it blamed on the TTP and outlawed Baloch separatist groups. The TTP denies operating from Afghan territory, and the Taliban government has consistently rejected accusations that it shelters anti-Pakistan militants.

Fragile Ceasefire at Risk

The latest strikes threaten a fragile ceasefire reached in October after the worst border clashes since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021. The violence in October ended with a ceasefire mediated by Qatar and Turkey on October 19.

Although the truce largely held, several rounds of follow-up talks in Doha and Istanbul failed to produce a lasting agreement. Sporadic fighting and mutual accusations have continued since then.

Tensions escalated further after explosions in Kabul last year, which Afghan officials blamed on Pakistan. More recently, Saudi Arabia mediated the release of three Pakistani soldiers captured during the October clashes.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share a 1,600-mile mountainous border that has long been a flashpoint for militancy and cross-border operations.

With both sides trading accusations and warning of further action, the latest round of air strikes underscores the deepening security crisis between the two neighbors. As Islamabad insists it will continue targeting what it calls militant safe havens, and Kabul condemns what it describes as attacks on civilians and religious sites, the risk of renewed confrontation appears to be growing.