PESHAWAR – Pakistan armed forces have shot down eight drones that entered Pakistani airspace from Afghanistan.
Reports said the drones entered Pakistani airspace early in the morning and were intercepted by Pakistan’s air defence system. Four drones were reportedly brought down in areas adjoining the Torkham border, while another four were shot down in mountainous areas near the border around Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Pakistani military and Pakistan Air Force responded to what they described as an attempt to target public locations. The sources further alleged that the drone incursions were evidence of direct support and patronage for militants by the Afghan Taliban government.
The reported drone incidents came after Pakistani forces carried out strikes against several Afghan Taliban positions and posts in the Kurram sector during the previous night. The strikes were described as a response to what Pakistani authorities said was provocative firing from across the border.
Pakistan’s Information Ministry had previously said that more than 28 militants were killed in the airstrikes. At the time, the ministry said Afghanistan’s continued role as a centre for terrorism was a matter of concern and claimed that the terrorism threat facing Pakistan originated from Afghanistan.
The strikes followed a major militant attack on the Old Police Lines in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in which 23 people were killed and around 100 others were injured.
An overnight clearance operation in the area reportedly resulted in the deaths of eight militants as security forces worked to clear the area of armed groups.
The reported drone incidents are not the first such cases mentioned by Pakistani authorities. In July, Afghan Taliban authorities were alleged to have sent four initial reconnaissance drones across the border toward Balochistan, which Pakistani security forces reportedly shot down. In June, two drones were also reportedly brought down.
In June, two drones were also reportedly brought down in Balochistan’s Qila Abdullah and Chagai districts.
