Afghanistan’s Ministry of Education, under the control of the Taliban government, says eight school students were killed and one madrasa student was wounded in Pakistani airstrikes carried out overnight in eastern Afghanistan, according to a statement released by the ministry.
The statement said in the Gardi Kas area of Behsood district in Nangarhar Province, eight school students were killed. Among those killed were five boys and three girls.
It added that in Barmal district of Paktika Province, a student of the Farooqia Madrasa in Margha village was injured during the strikes.
The announcement follows earlier reports that 18 civilians, including 11 children, were killed when a Pakistani airstrike hit a farmer’s home in Behsood district of Nangrahar province in eastern Afghanistan.
Taliban officials have condemned the strikes as a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and warned of an “appropriate and measured” response.
Pakistan has previously stated that its operations were intelligence-based and targeted alleged militant hideouts along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, carried out in response to recent attacks inside Pakistan.
