KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — Three children were killed in a Pakistani attack on a camp for returning Afghan refugees in eastern Kunar province, Taliban officials said on Monday.
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson for the Taliban administration, said the strike took place at around 10:00 a.m. local time (Monday, 2 March) in the “Khas Kunar” district.
According to Fitrat, three other people were wounded in the attack.
Local sources told the newspaper KabulNow that the incident occurred in the village of “Hijrat Abad” in Khas Kunar district. They reported that three children were killed, while three children and one woman were injured.
Relatives of the victims said the children were playing inside the camp when a stray shell struck the area, killing them. The wounded were transferred to Kunar Provincial Hospital for treatment.
The Taliban authorities had previously reported that at least 66 civilians were killed and 59 others wounded in Pakistani airstrikes across Afghanistan since 21 February. According to Taliban deputy spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat, women and children were among the casualties, with dozens of homes destroyed or damaged. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirmed that 13 civilians, including women and children, were killed in strikes in Nangarhar province.
Fighting between Taliban forces and Pakistan began late Thursday night last week and has continued since then. During this period, Pakistan has carried out multiple airstrikes inside Afghanistan, while cross-border rocket fire has also reportedly caused civilian casualties in several border provinces.
The escalation marks one of the most serious spikes in tensions between the two sides in recent months. The Taliban authorities have accused Pakistan of violating Afghan sovereignty, while Islamabad has previously said its operations target militant groups it claims operate from Afghan territory.
