Taliban condemn 'reckless' air strikes by Pakistan that it claims killed eight, including women and children

The Taliban on Monday (Mar 18) condemned the air strikes by Pakistan, claiming that the attacks inside Afghanistan killed women and children. It also said thatAfghanistan does not allow anyone to "compromise security" by using Afghan territory.

The Taliban called the strikes "reckless action" and a violation of Afghanistan's territory. In a statement Taliban claimed that its security forces targeted Pakistani troops at the border in response to the air strikes.

Zabihullah Mujahid, who is the spokesperson for the Taliban administration, released a statement, stating that Pakistan planes bombed the houses of civilians, which killed six people, including three women and three children.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

The statement added that two women died after a house collapsed in the Khost province.

Pakistan's government reportedly targeted the hideouts of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). In a statement, the Pakistani foreign office said Pakistan had carried out "intelligence-based anti-terrorist operations in the border regions inside Afghanistan".

However, it did not specify what kind of operations they were. Pakistan, however, said that they targeted members of the Hafiz Gulf Bahadur militant group after an attack on a military post in Pakistan on Saturday.

WION learned from sources that Islamabad apparently targeted the house of Abdullah Shah, one of the TTP commanders. But according to the Taliban, Shah is in Pakistan.

The Taliban spokesperson added in the statement, "Pakistan shouldn't blame Afghanistan for the lack of control, incompetence, and problems in its own territory."

"Such incidents can have very bad consequences which will not be in Pakistan’s control," it added.

In an earlier statement, the Taliban had said that Pakistan's reconnaissance and fighter jets once again entered the territory of Afghanistan during an aggressive action, and bombed the houses of civilians in Paktika's Burmal and Khost Sepera districts.

Watch this report:

It added, "In response to this aggression, the border forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan targeted Pakistan’s military centres along the fictitious line with heavy weapons."

"‎The country's defence and security forces are ready to respond to any aggressive actions and will defend their territorial integrity in any situation," it added.

Both Pakistan and Afghanistan have traded blame over who is responsible for a recent rise in militant attacks in Pakistan. Islamabad claims that the attacks were launched from Afghan soil, but Kabul denies this.

(With inputs from agencies)