NEWS DESK (MNN); Four brothers were killed and a five-year-old child was seriously injured after mortar shells fired from across the Afghan border struck a residential area in Bajaur district on Sunday, officials said.
According to local administration and security authorities, the attack occurred in the Salarzai area of Bajaur when mortar shells landed in a populated locality. One of the shells directly hit a house, killing four brothers identified as Sajid, Ayaz, Riaz and Muaz.
A five-year-old child present inside the house suffered critical injuries and was immediately shifted to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.
Pakistanâs Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the mortar fire was launched by Afghan Taliban fighters from across the border at a location known as Tabesta Letai. He stated that deliberately targeting civilian populations is a clear violation of international law.
Tarar said Pakistanâs security forces responded firmly to the positions responsible for the attack and deployed additional troops in the affected border area.
Residents and local officials strongly condemned the incident, describing the targeting of peaceful civilians as unacceptable. Following the attack, security forces further strengthened surveillance and monitoring along the Bajaur border region to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Meanwhile, Pakistanâs military carried out overnight strikes in Afghanistanâs Kandahar province targeting what officials described as terrorist hideouts and military infrastructure. The action is part of the ongoing military campaign known as Operation Ghazab lil-Haq.
According to state-run Pakistan Television, the strikes targeted facilities allegedly used by Afghan Taliban fighters and affiliated militant groups to plan and support attacks against Pakistani civilians.
Security sources said the armed forces destroyed several installations including hideouts used by Afghan Taliban fighters and militants associated with Fitna al-Khawarij, a term used by the state for the banned militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Officials added that a technical support infrastructure facility and an equipment storage site in Kandahar were also destroyed as they were allegedly being used to facilitate cross-border militant activities.
In another operation, Pakistani forces targeted a tunnel in Kandahar believed to house technical equipment used by militants.
Security officials stated that the military campaign would continue until its objectives are fully achieved.
The escalation followed another incident late Friday evening when several rudimentary drones launched by Afghan Taliban fighters caused injuries to at least four people, including two children.
In a message posted on social media platform X, Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed the overnight strikes and shared video footage of the operation.
He said the attacks were carefully planned precision strikes against militant facilities and military installations used by Afghan Taliban fighters and militants associated with Fitna al-Khawarij.
Tarar emphasised that the operation specifically targeted militant infrastructure and that no civilian population or civilian facilities were attacked, rejecting claims made by Afghan authorities that civilians were harmed.
Providing further details, the minister said that so far 684 Afghan Taliban personnel had been killed and more than 912 injured during the ongoing operations.
He added that 252 military posts had been destroyed while another 44 were captured and later demolished. According to the minister, Pakistani forces also destroyed 229 tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery guns belonging to militant groups.
Tarar further said that air strikes had successfully targeted 73 locations across Afghanistan associated with militants and their logistical support networks.
Separately, Pakistani ground forces destroyed what officials described as a terrorist jump-off point located at Afghanistanâs Badini Post as part of the same operation.
Security sources said the post was targeted from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border near Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa using both light and heavy weapons.
They added that the position was completely destroyed using a combination of ground-based weapons and quadcopters.
Security officials claimed that Afghan Taliban fighters and associated militant groups were suffering heavy setbacks due to Pakistanâs ongoing military campaign.
According to authorities, the operation will continue until the armed forces achieve their strategic objectives.
Earlier on Sunday afternoon, Minister Attaullah Tarar said Afghan Taliban fighters had deliberately targeted civilians in the Tabesta Letai area across the border by firing artillery and mortar shells into the Salarzai region of Bajaur.
He confirmed that four civilians had been martyred in the attack while a five-year-old child remained critically injured.
District police spokesperson Israr Khan said residents from nearby villages rushed to the scene after the incident and helped retrieve the victims from the debris.
Police teams from the Salarzai station later inspected the damaged house and collected evidence from the site.
Tarar condemned the attack, calling it a cowardly act and a serious violation of international law and humanitarian values.
He said the targeting of civilians by Afghan Taliban forces, allegedly in coordination with militants linked to Fitna al-Khawarij, reflected their frustration as they face mounting pressure from Pakistanâs military operations.
