Pakistani airstrikes target suspected Pakistani Taliban hideouts in Afghanistan, killing 8 people

By MUNIR AHMED and RAHIM FAIEZ
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Officials say Pakistani airstrikes targeted multiple suspected hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban inside neighboring Afghanistan, killing at least eight people and drawing return fire from the Afghan Taliban. Monday’s escalation is likely to further increase tensions between Islamabad and Kabul. The Pakistani strikes came two days after insurgents killed seven soldiers in a suicide bombing and coordinated attack in northwestern Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban denounced the strikes as an aggression on Afghanistan’s territorial integrity, saying they killed several women and children. The defense ministry in Kabul said Afghan forces later on Monday “targeted Pakistan’s military centers along border with heavy weapons,” without providing details.