Pakistan hits 10 Afghan targets after alleged cross-border drone attack

Pakistan conducted aerial and drone strikes against 10 locations in Afghanistan on September 24, 2026, saying the operation was launched in response to a drone incursion from Afghan territory the previous day. 

Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar announced the strikes in posts on X early on September 24, while state broadcaster Radio Pakistan also carried the statement. 

Tarar said the sites had been used to launch and store the drones. He described the strikes as “deliberate, precise, calibrated and proportionate,” and said they were limited to military objectives linked to the alleged attempted attack. 

In a second post, Tarar said the strikes destroyed “terrorist hideouts and support infrastructure,” including drone launch and storage sites, in areas controlled by the Taliban administration. He attached a video he said showed the targets being hit. 

Pakistan did not identify the locations struck, the aircraft or munitions used, or any assessed casualties. 

Eight drones reported shot down over Pakistan 

Tarar said Pakistani air defense systems detected, tracked and neutralized all intruding platforms on September 23, 2026, before they reached their intended targets. He did not specify how many drones were involved. 

Radio Pakistan reported, citing unnamed security sources, that eight drones had been shot down. 

Four reportedly came down in areas near the Torkham border crossing, while another four were brought down in mountainous terrain along the border near Kohat, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. 

The interception figures came from unnamed security sources rather than an on-record military statement. 

Kabul denies drone attack, says four civilians killed 

Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the Pakistani strikes hit the provinces of Kandahar, Paktia and Khost and killed four civilians. 

He rejected Pakistan’s account of a drone attack originating from Afghan territory and warned that the strikes would be met with a response. 

Neither side’s casualty or damage claims could be independently verified. 

Second round of Pakistani strikes in four days 

The operation marked the second round of Pakistani strikes in Afghanistan in four days. 

On September 21, 2026, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced what it called “calibrated” airstrikes against militant hideouts in the border region. Those strikes followed a deadly attack on a police compound in Kohat on September 18 and 19, 2026. 

Islamabad accuses the Taliban administration of sheltering militant groups that carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegation. 

Cross-border air operations between the two countries escalated sharply in late February 2026, when Pakistan struck targets in Kabul and Kandahar. On March 1, 2026, Taliban authorities claimed to have repelled Pakistani jets near Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul. 

Tarar said Pakistan does not seek escalation but warned that any further “provocative act” would draw a firm response.