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Pakistan launches fresh strikes at Afghanistan, Kabul says ten killed in attack
"Pakistan has broken the ceasefire and bombed three locations in Paktika" province, a senior Taliban official said, adding that “Afghanistan will retaliate.”
Pakistan on Friday evening carried out fresh strikes in a border province in Afghanistan, breaking a ceasefire that brought two days between the two neighbouring countries amid soaring tensions.
The Pakistani military conducted airstrikes in the Argun and Barmal districts of Paktika province, Tolo News reported. A provincial hospital official told AFP on the condition of anonymity that ten people had been killed in the strikes, including two children, while 12 others had been wounded.
"Pakistan has broken the ceasefire and bombed three locations in Paktika" province, a senior Taliban official told AFP, adding that “Afghanistan will retaliate.”
The latest strikes comes as the two-day ceasefire between Afghanistan and Pakistan expired on Friday evening. Reuters, citing Pakistani security officials and a Taliban source, had reported that that the two countries had agreed to extend the truce until the conclusion of talks in Doha.
The truce, which began at 6:00 pm Islamabad time on Wednesday, paused nearly a week of bloody border clashes that killed dozens of troops and civilians on both sides.
The violence between Islamabad and Kabul escalated dramatically last Saturday as the Taliban's foreign minister began a visit to India.
Ceasefire was extended till conclusion of Doha talks
Pakistan and Afghanistan on Friday agreed to extend their 48-hour ceasefire until Doha talks conclude, Reuters reported citing three Pakistani security officials and one Afghan Taliban source.
While a delegation from Pakistan had reached Doha, an Afghan delegation is expected to reach the Qatari capital on Saturday, according to sources cited by Reuters.
This came even as a deadly suicide attack near the Afghan border led to the deaths of seven Pakistani soldiers, injuring 13 others.
Following the attack, Pakistan security officials said militants had attacked a military camp in North Waziristan district. They further said that an attacker had rammed a vehicle laden with explosives into the boundary wall, and two others had attempted to storm the facility before being shot dead, Reuters reported.
A statement from the office of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said six militants were killed in the assault.
