Afghan Taliban claim cross-border air operation in Pakistan, target alleged ISIS hideouts

Kabul/Islamabad (Terror Monitor) — The Afghan Taliban’s Deputy Spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence, Sadiqullah Nasrat, has said that the Afghan Air Force carried out operations targeting alleged ISIS positions in Pakistan’s Balochistan province and multiple locations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to him, the strikes targeted a joint facility in the Saranan area of Pishin district in Balochistan, an alleged ISIS site in Qambar Khel in Khyber district, and another facility in the Garm Chashma area of the Shah Salim valley in Chitral.

The Taliban claimed that ISIS fighters and their supporters suffered heavy casualties, while insisting that no civilians were harmed.

Meanwhile, local reports from Balochistan said at least two people were injured in Saranan after a drone allegedly fell in the area. Officials said one or two incoming drones were shot down after being fired upon, with debris causing casualties.

In the suburban area of Hassan Khel in Peshawar, five members of a family, including two children, were also injured in an incident involving a drone allegedly crashing or being intercepted. Police confirmed recovery of drone debris and said investigations are ongoing.

Security sources further stated that Pakistani forces also intercepted and shot down Afghan drones in the Hayatabad area of Peshawar.

According to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), drones crossed into Pakistani territory from Afghanistan’s side in Balochistan, prompting a response in which several drones were shot down.

The development comes amid recent Pakistani air operations in Afghanistan’s Paktika, Paktia, and Kunar provinces targeting alleged hideouts of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, which the Afghan Taliban said resulted in civilian casualties.