In the hours before dawn, Pakistani aircraft crossed into Afghan territory and struck targets the military described as militant positions, claiming 28 fighters killed. But the Afghan Taliban government and United Nations observers reported something different: three civilians dead in areas that bore no clear mark of a militant stronghold. The gap between these accounts is not merely a matter of numbers — it is the latest chapter in a long and unresolved argument over sovereignty, accountability, and who bears the cost when the calculus of counterterrorism goes wrong.
Pakistan reports 28 militants killed in Afghan airstrikes; Kabul disputes toll, cites 3 civilian deaths
Three civilians killed in Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan, according to Afghan Taliban and UN reports.