Pakistani forces struck a residential compound in Paktia province’s Chamkani district overnight June 28 to 29, then struck the same location a second time as residents arrived to rescue survivors. The second strike, a tactic known in military doctrine as a double-tap, killed 28 villagers and wounded 158 more, Afghan Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) verified at least 28 civilians killed and 49 injured across overnight strikes in Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar provinces, with figures expected to rise as hospitals continue treating the wounded. Afghanistan’s Taliban government put the overall toll higher, at 36 killed and 163 injured.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced on X that security forces struck “terrorist camps and safe havens” of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters across all three provinces, saying 25 militants were killed.
A separate ground operation in Pakistan’s Bajaur district, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killed four additional JuA fighters, including high-value senior commander Khan Farosh, bringing the total reported militant death toll to 29.
Under Operation Ghazb Lil Haq, security forces precisely struck terrorist camps and safe havens of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khwarij in Paktia, Paktika and Kunar, eliminating terrorists and destroying weapons and ammunition stockpiles on night 28/29June. https://t.co/UV2lqXir7I pic.twitter.com/Xfdgtob2Ca
— Attaullah Tarar (@TararAttaullah) June 29, 2026
The strikes followed a June 27 assault on the Sindh Rangers’ headquarters in Karachi’s Gulistan-i-Jauhar neighborhood that killed three paramilitary troops.
JuA said it carried out the attack. Pakistani authorities arrested one Afghan suspect, identified as Usman Ali from Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, though it was unclear whether his statement was made under duress.
Both governments summoned each other’s top diplomats on June 29. Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry deputy spokesperson Zia Ahmad Takal accused Islamabad of blaming Kabul for attacks inside Pakistan without “credible evidence.”
Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman Tahir Andrabi said “Afghan soil and Afghan nationals continue to be used to orchestrate terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.”
The strikes are the latest escalation under Operation Ghazab Lil Haq, Pakistan’s ongoing cross-border military campaign active since February. UNAMA documented at least 372 Afghan civilian deaths from cross-border violence in the first three months of 2026 alone.
