Afghanistan says its forces hit militant hideouts in Pakistan, Islamabad denies claim

Afghanistan said on Friday it had launched airstrikes on hideouts of militants in two Pakistani provinces, an assertion swiftly rejected by Islamabad, months after the neighbours engaged in their worst conflict in years.

The Taliban government's defence ministry said in a post on X that hideouts in Pakistan's Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, both of which share a border with Afghanistan, had been targeted by the Afghan air force on Thursday night.

It did not specify how the attack - Kabul's first major offensive action in months - was carried out.

Afghanistan has no fighter jets but is known to possess at least six aircraft and 23 helicopters, according to data from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. The Taliban forces are also known to have drones that have been used in fighting with Pakistan.

"These bases, allegedly used in cooperation with certain hostile intelligence circles to plan and organize attacks against Afghanistan, had previously served as staging grounds for several deadly attacks," the Afghan ministry said. "According to preliminary information, the operation successfully hit its key pre-designated targets," it added, without giving details about casualties.

Reuters was not immediately able to verify the assertion.

PAKISTAN SAYS 'RUDIMENTARY DRONE' WAS USED

Pakistan's Information Ministry denied the Taliban assertion, saying that a "rudimentary drone" from Afghanistan had entered Pakistani airspace but was immediately identified and shot down.

"The claims are false, as usual. Terrorist camps... are factually located, run and patronised from inside the territories under the control of the Afghan Taliban regime," it said in a post on X.

Islamabad blames Kabul for harbouring militants that it says plot attacks in Pakistan, but the Afghan Taliban denies the allegations and says militancy is Pakistan's internal problem.

The conflict between allies-turned-foes Pakistan and Afghanistan has killed hundreds of people this year, with efforts to ease tensions, mediated by China, yielding no results so far.

Pakistan launched airstrikes on Afghan provinces last week, which the Afghan Taliban said killed at least 13 people and injured 14.

Islamabad said the "calibrated strikes" killed 26 militants and were a response to a recent spate of attacks in northwest Pakistan.