23 members of a single family were trapped under rubble following Pakistani airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan, with four recovered so far and the remaining still missing.
The strikes took place at around midnight on Saturday, targeting three districts in Nangarhar Province and two districts in Paktika Province.
Video reviewed by Afghan Times shows, a member of the affected family In Nangrahar province, searching through the rubble for his relatives.
“Twenty-three members of our family are under the rubble. So far, we have reached four, and the rest are still missing,” the family member told local reporters.
“We are farmers. We worked in our fields all day, broke our fast in the evening, spoke with our aunt, and went to sleep when this incident happened,” he said.
He added that there is still no information about the fate of the remaining family members trapped under the rubbles.
The Taliban have not yet commented on the situation in the Barmal and Urgun districts of Paktika, and in the Behsood, Khogyani and Ghani Khel districts of Nangarhar.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued a press release, stating that the strikes were carried out in response to recent suicide bombings in Pakistan, including an attack at an Imam Bargah in Islamabad and incidents in Bajaur and Bannu.
“Pakistan has conclusive evidence that these acts of terrorism were perpetrated by Khwarij on behest of their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers,” the statement said.
The ministry added that responsibility for the attacks was claimed by Afghanistan-based Pakistani Taliban belonging to Fitna al Khwarij (FAK) and their affiliates, as well as the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP).
“In a retributive response, Pakistan has carried out intelligence-based selective targeting of seven terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to Pakistani Taliban of FAK and its affiliates and ISKP at the border region of Pakistan-Afghanistan border with precision and accuracy,” the statement said.
