Pakistan Kills Dozens, Including Children, in Overnight Air Strikes on Afghanistan

Pakistan's military said it carried out multiple overnight air strikes on seven sites inside Afghanistan on Feb. 22.

“Afghan Defence Ministry says the strikes hit a school and homes, killing and wounding dozens of people”

Al Jazeera

It described the operations as "intelligence-based" or "intelligence-based selective" targeting Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) camps and an Islamic State affiliate.

Al Jazeera

Pakistani statements said the strikes were in retaliation for recent suicide bombings, including a Feb. 6 mosque attack in Islamabad, and other deadly attacks in Bajaur and Bannu.

Pakistani statements framed the strikes as a necessary response to militants it says are plotting attacks from Afghan soil.

Afghan officials and multiple on-the-ground reports say the strikes hit civilian homes, a religious school or seminary, and residential neighbourhoods in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces.

They say the strikes caused "dozens" of deaths and injuries, including women and children.

albawaba

Local reporting and Afghan ministry statements put confirmed tolls in Bihsud/Behsud and other districts at numbers ranging from at least 17 fatalities to claims that whole families were buried under rubble.

Journalists and rescuers described using bulldozers and digging to recover victims from damaged homes.

Officials on both sides warned of escalation and framed the strikes within a wider, tense context.

“Pakistan said Sunday it launched multiple air strikes targeting militants in neighboring Afghanistan, where the government reported children were among dozens of people killed and wounded”

Asharq Al-awsat - English

Islamabad said the operation followed a string of militant attacks inside Pakistan — including a mosque suicide bombing in Islamabad claimed by Islamic State that killed at least 31 people — and warned it would keep "all options on the table."

Afghan authorities and the Taliban’s defence ministry condemned the strikes as severe violations of sovereignty and vowed a measured or "appropriate and calculated" response.

Analysts and some reports warned the strikes risk undermining a fragile ceasefire brokered after October border clashes that killed scores.

Coverage differs between outlets in tone, detail and what each highlights.

West Asian outlets (Al Jazeera, Khaleej Times, Asharq) foreground local casualty accounts and ministry statements.

BBC

Western mainstream outlets (BBC) balance Pakistani claims and Afghan condemnation while noting family-level tolls.

Asian and local Western outlets (Malay Mail, TimelineDaily, Views Bangladesh) emphasise Pakistan’s justification and the immediate link to recent attacks in Pakistan.

Some fringe or non-news items (El-Balad entry) add no reporting.

These differences affect readers’ perception of whether the strikes are a counterterror operation or a cross-border attack on civilians.