Taliban Targets ISIS with Nighttime Airstrikes Amid Rising Tensions in Pakistan

The Taliban Ministry of Defense has officially announced the execution of nighttime airstrikes targeting ISIS positions and destructive centers in the provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In response, the Pakistan Army claimed to have shot down four drones from Kabul…

Airstrikes on ISIS and Armed Groups Deep Inside Pakistan

The Taliban’s Ministry of Defense has released a statement confirming successful airstrikes on various military targets in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. The statement explicitly claims that these targets were affiliated with ISIS and centers coordinating violent activities. According to the Ministry of Defense, these operations were coordinated and executed on Tuesday night against a joint base located in the Saranaan area of Pishin district in Balochistan. Kabul asserts that these centers were used to organize terrorist attacks against civilians within Afghanistan. UN Reports Rising Civilian Toll Amid Airstrikes by Pakistan in Afghanistan indicate the broader context of these airstrikes.

Ongoing Tensions After Heavy Civilian Casualties in Eastern Provinces

Although the statement does not directly reference the recent bloody airstrikes by the Pakistani military in the provinces of Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar, these military actions take place in the wake of previous bombings that resulted in the deaths of dozens of Afghan civilians. The Taliban government had previously reported that thirty-six people were killed and one hundred sixty-three injured in those attacks, a figure that has been largely corroborated by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). Escalating Tensions: Pakistani Airstrikes Kill 36 Civilians in Afghanistan Amid Retaliation Claims highlight the repercussions of these conflicts.

Expanding Airstrike Operations to Chitral and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

In another part of its report, the Islamic Emirate’s Ministry of Defense stated that the Kabul Air Force simultaneously conducted precise strikes on another ISIS center in the Qambar Khel area and a joint base in the Warm Chashma region of the Shah Salim Valley in Chitral. Military officials in Kabul emphasize that preliminary intelligence indicates heavy casualties and significant financial losses inflicted on terrorists and their supporters during these operations, with no reported harm to the local civilian population due to the high accuracy of the targeting.

Pakistan Army Claims to Have Shot Down Four Drones

Meanwhile, Reuters reports, citing security officials in Islamabad, that Pakistan’s defense forces identified and shot down four drones, which they described as rudimentary, within the airspace of Balochistan. The Pakistan Army stated in a release that these drones were destroyed immediately upon entering the country’s airspace. Local officials in Balochistan confirmed the drone strike, noting that one of the drones fell near a government school in the Saranaan area, injuring two individuals. These developments come as an assessment by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London reveals that although the Taliban air force lacks advanced fighter jets, it possesses several helicopters and a number of attack drones that they utilize in border confrontations.