Pakistani jet fighters carried out airstrikes on Monday (September 21, 2026) in Afghanistan near the two countries' frontier, with the two sides giving sharply different accounts of the death toll.

Pakistani security officials said the strikes hit suspected militant hideouts in eastern Afghanistan and claimed 28 militants were killed. Authorities in Kabul said at least three people were killed. One source said at least one house in Kunar province was hit.

The strikes threatened to reignite tensions after about three months of relative calm between the neighbours, whose relations have remained strained since February, when the two sides fought their worst clashes in years.

The dispute centres on militancy in Pakistan. Islamabad accuses Kabul of harbouring militants who stage cross-border attacks from Afghan territory. Afghanistan's Taliban government denies the charges and says militancy is Pakistan's internal problem.

The airstrikes came after Pakistan warned it could target militants inside Afghanistan following two deadly attacks in recent days on its security forces near the border. One of those attacks, on a police facility in northwestern Pakistan, killed at least 16 people.

The escalation raises the prospect of further cross-border hostilities and threatens to complicate mediation efforts by regional countries including China.