Afghanistan's Taliban claims Pakistani airstrikes killed 36 civilians

Pakistani security forces carried out a ground operation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border Sunday, followed by "calibrated strikes" against militant hideouts and safe havens, killing 29 fighters, officials said. In a post on X, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the operation was launched in response to multiple militant attacks across the country.

Afghanistan's Taliban regime said Monday, however, that 36 civilians, including women and children, were killed in the strikes and more than 150 other people were wounded across Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces.

Deputy Taliban spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat posted graphic photos on social media showing children, including an infant, purportedly wounded in the strikes receiving medical care. Chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told CBS News the figures provided by his deputy were correct, but CBS News could not independently verify the claims from the Pakistani or Afghan officials.

"In Mandukhel village, part of Chamanai district in Paktia province, Pakistani fighter jets bombed a civilian home, resulting in the martyrdom of an elderly sheikh and a child, and the injury of the rest of the family members. When villagers gathered to rescue the wounded, the aircraft targeted them with a second bombing, leading to the martyrdom of 28 civilians and the injury of 158 others," Fitrat said in his post on X.

An eyewitness in Mandukhel, Qayum Khan, told CBS News in a series of messages sent via social media that the house struck in the village belonged to Bismillah Badshah Khan, which was about 800 yards from his own home. He said that near midnight, Khan's house — which was one of the most substantial homes in the area — was engulfed in flames after being hit.

"We immediately ran toward the house to help, but then another bomb struck. Those who had reached the house first to rescue the injured were also caught in the Pakistan bombing," Khan said. "I stood there in shock for a few moments. When I regained my senses, we reached the house. It had been completely destroyed."

"I could hear people shouting for help from beneath the collapsed rooms. Children were crying. This was not a house belonging to the TTP [Pakistani Taliban]. It was the home of a respected family. Most of the family members worked in the Middle East and had built this house through years of hard work and sacrifice," said Khan.

Afghanistan's Taliban-run Foreign Affairs Ministry, in a separate statement, said it had summoned Pakistan's charge d'affaires in Kabul to present him with a "strong and resolute" protest regarding the bomb