Bone-chilling carnage: 11 children massacred in midnight Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan
Pakistani airstrikes target civilian homes in Afghan border provinces Kunar, Khost, and Paktika, killing 13 people, including 11 children. Kabul warns of escalation.
by Zee Media Bureau · Zee NewsTensions have risen sharply along Afghanistan's borders with Pakistan after a series of vicious nighttime bombing missions undertaken by Pakistani military forces inside Afghan territory. Violating international airspace and borders laws, the Pakistan Air Force unleashed their fighter jets to bomb and kill civilians in their sleep, resulting in the death of 13 people and injuring several others.
According to an official spokesperson for the Afghan government, Zabihullah Mujahid, the mission was conducted by Pakistan and was an unprovoked violation of Afghanistan's sovereignty.
Multiple border provinces bombed by Pakistani forces
In the indiscriminate airstrike operation, three prominent Afghan border provinces were targeted – Kunar, Khost, and Paktika. Taking advantage of the night cover, Pakistan's fighter planes targeted civilians' homes without mercy, causing massive destruction among sleeping families in their beds.
After the strikes, rescue teams and local authorities had to spend considerable time digging through piles of debris to retrieve victims. Due to the indiscriminate manner of attacks carried out, there were no combatants killed in the bombing operation – all the victims were civilians.
Absolute tragedy: 11 innocent kids killed in the striking martyrs
The cost in both money and human lives due to this airstrike has been quite heavy. According to the administration of Afghanistan, there have been 13 deaths recorded, and those victims have been labeled as martyrs.
A major part of the casualties depicts the inhumanity of the attack:
- Deaths: 11 innocent children, a woman, and an old man.
- Injuries: 14 people, among them numerous children and women who suffered severe injuries caused by falling debris and shrapnel.
The injured victims have been swiftly sent off to regional hospitals, some of them still in a critical state. Social networks were inundated with heart-touching pictures and videos portraying both the consequences of the attack and the suffering endured by the children.
Ferocious protest from Afghanistan against unprovoked attacks
An aggressive reaction has followed from the Afghan government on account of this military offensive. Warning against acts of cross-border aggression in the strongest manner, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stated his position in condemning the military action.
"We vehemently condemn this inhumane crime and unprovoked assault in the strongest possible words," Mujahid stated.
The Afghan government has formally classified the airstrikes as a severe violation of international law, labeling the deliberate targeting of residential pockets a cruel, unacceptable crime against innocent civilians.
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