Pakistani airstrikes on north-eastern Afghanistan have killed three people and injured four others, raising fears of renewed tension between the neighbouring countries after almost three months of relative calm.
The casualties were reported in Kunar province, where at least one house was struck. The three people killed were members of the same family, according to Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for Afghanistan’s Taliban government.
Mr Fitrat said two locations in Barmal district, in Paktika province, were also bombarded. A shop and an unoccupied house were destroyed, but no casualties were reported there.
Pakistan’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The strikes came days after an attack on a police facility in north-west Pakistan that killed at least 16 people. Islamabad has accused Kabul of sheltering militants responsible for cross-border attacks, while the Taliban government denies the allegations and says militancy is an internal Pakistani problem.
Relations between the former allies have remained strained since February, when the two sides fought their most serious clashes in years.
Afghanistan launched drone attacks against Pakistan in July, which Islamabad said its forces had intercepted and shot down. The worst single incident took place in March, when more than 400 people were killed in a Pakistani airstrike on Kabul.
The Afghan Taliban said that attack had targeted a drug rehabilitation centre. Islamabad rejected the claim, saying it had “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure”.
Pakistan has 422 combat aircraft and more than 260 helicopters, according to figures from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. Afghanistan has no fighter jets, but is believed to possess at least six aircraft, 23 helicopters and drones previously used in fighting with Pakistan.
