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Four Pakistani brothers killed in cross-border mortar shelling from Afghanistan, Police say

By The South Asia Times

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Four Pakistani brothers were killed, and another person was injured after mortar shells fired from across the border in Afghanistan struck a residential house in Pakistan’s northwestern Bajaur District, police and local officials said on Sunday.

According to Bajaur police, the incident occurred in the Salarzai area along the border when shells landed in the village of Leti (Tari Pasha). One mortar round exploded inside a home, killing four brothers identified as Sajid, Ayaz, Riaz, and Muaz on the spot, while another person was seriously injured and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Security sources said several mortar shells were fired from Afghan territory into border villages, accusing Afghan Taliban forces of indiscriminately targeting civilian areas.

The attack has sparked anger among residents of Bajaur, a mountainous region in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that borders Afghanistan and has frequently witnessed cross-border violence.

The incident comes amid heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan following a series of cross-border military actions under Pakistan’s ongoing Operation Ghazab Lil Haq, which Islamabad says targets militant infrastructure inside Afghanistan linked to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Taliban defense ministry claimed it carried out a retaliatory strike on a Pakistani military camp in Wana in South Waziristan. Pakistani officials rejected the claim, saying a rudimentary drone was intercepted and destroyed through electronic countermeasures before it could reach any military installation. Authorities said the drone caused no casualties or damage.

Cross-border hostilities have escalated in recent months as Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban regime of allowing militant groups to operate from Afghan soil and launch attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban in Kabul denies the allegations.

Violence has increased in Pakistan’s border regions since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021, with militant attacks frequently targeting security forces and civilians in the country’s northwest and southwest regions.