Afghanistan: Taliban claims Pakistan airstrike killed 27 women and children, among others - Key updates here

Taliban government official on Wednesday, December 25, claimed that Pakistan's airstrike on eastern Afghanistan has killed 46 people, which includes mostly women and children, reported the news agency AP.

The deputy spokesman for the Afghan government, Hamdullah Fitrat, also said that six people were wounded in the Paktika province bordering Pakistan, according to the agency report. 

Here are key things we know so far:
 

1. Death toll: In an official statement, Mohammad Khurasani, the spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed that 50 people, including 27 women and children, have died in the air strike, cited the agency report. 

2. Local insights: The local residents told the news agency that at least 13 people were left dead, adding that the deal toll can be higher. The wounded were transported to a local hospital, as per the news report. 

3. Attack time: According to local sources, cited in an ANI report, the attack was carried out by Pakistani jets on the night of December 24. 

4. Target locations: The airstrike targeted seven villages, including Laman, where five members of a family were killed, reported a local news portal Khaama Press.

5. Pakistan's response: Pakistan has not officially commented on the strikes. However, this comes a day after Pakistani security officials told the news agency that Tuesday's strike was to dismantle a training facility and kill insurgents in the province of Paktika in Afghanistan.

Pakistan military on Wednesday said the security forces killed 13 insurgents in an overnight operation, as per the news report. 

6. Diplomatic tension: The strikes are likely to spike tensions between the two countries further. Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban government denounced the attack on Tuesday and said that most of the victims were refugees from the Waziristan region and promised retaliation, according to the agency's earlier report.

7. Taliban's vow: Taliban's Ministry of Defence vowed to retaliate following the airstrike on Barmal, Paktika. According to the news agency ANI's report, Waziristan refugees were among those targeted. 

8. What is TTP? TTP is a separate group but remains a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in August 2021. 

9. Militant attack on Pakistan: Pakistan has also witnessed multiple militant attacks in the last 20 years, but there has been a recent rise of the same in the last few months. The latest of these attacks was that of this weekend when at least 16 Pakistani soldiers were killed when TTP attacked a checkpoint in the country’s northwest, according to the agency report. 

10. Blame game: While Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban of harbouring these militants, the Taliban insists it is not collaborating with the group, as per ANI's report. 

LiveMint couldn't independently verify the report.