ISLAMABAD -- Pakistani airstrikes targeting suspected militant hideouts in Afghanistan could signal that the new government in Islamabad is prepared to take a tough stance on a longstanding threat.
Afghanistan's Taliban administration on Monday confirmed the airstrikes in the eastern provinces of Paktika and Khost, alleging that they targeted civilian homes and killed eight women and children. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry did not explicitly mention air attacks but said an intelligence-based operation in border regions inside Afghanistan had targeted a Pakistani militant group commanded by Hafiz Gul Bahadur. The ministry said his faction, alongside the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is responsible for multiple cross-border attacks inside Pakistan.
