Residents of Bihsud district in eastern Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, surround the coffins of those killed in Pakistani airstrikes on February 22 (local time). [AFP=Yonhap News]

Pakistan has launched airstrikes on multiple locations in Afghanistan, which has been under a ceasefire since last year's clashes, resulting in the deaths of at least 18 residents, escalating the risk of full-blown armed conflict between the two countries.

Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) announced in a statement early on February 22 (local time) that the Pakistani military had carried out airstrikes on seven locations in Afghanistan, including strongholds and hideouts of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), its affiliated groups, and the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), an Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State (IS), located in the border region.

The ISI stated that it had obtained "conclusive evidence" that recent attacks in Pakistan, such as suicide bombings, were carried out by militants "directed by leadership and perpetrators based in Afghanistan."

Consequently, it emphasized that these were retaliatory measures for the safety and security of its citizens, carried out through intelligence-based selective operations targeting precisely and accurately.

The ISI also added that Pakistan had repeatedly urged the Afghan Taliban regime to take verifiable measures to prevent militants from using Afghan territory as a base for attacks against Pakistan, but no substantial action had been taken.

Pakistani security sources told AFP and other news agencies that more than 80 militants were killed in the airstrikes, and the death toll is expected to rise.

Earlier, on the night of February 16, a member of an Afghan militant group carried out a suicide bombing at a security post in the Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, northwestern Pakistan, killing 11 soldiers and one child.

The following day, militants launched a suicide bombing attack on a military convoy in the Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing two Pakistani soldiers.

Immediately after the Bannu attack, the Pakistani military stated that it would continue operations against those responsible for the terror attacks "regardless of their location" and would not "show any restraint," hinting at the possibility of an attack on Afghanistan.

Pakistan did not specify the exact locations of the strikes.

However, the Afghan Taliban regime's Ministry of Defense stated on the same day that civilian residential areas in several parts of eastern Nangarhar province and southeastern Paktika province were hit by airstrikes overnight, with dozens of civilians, including women and children, killed or injured.

The Afghan Ministry of Defense condemned Pakistan's attack as a "flagrant violation of national sovereignty" and a "violation of international law, principles of good neighborliness, and Islamic values," stating that it would "take appropriate and prudent action at the appropriate time."

Pakistan airstrikes on 7 locations in Afghanistan, killing at least 18 residents [AFP=Yonhap News]

Regarding the scale of casualties, an official from the Afghan Red Crescent in Nangarhar province told the Associated Press that 18 people were killed and several others injured in the airstrikes.

Afghan state media, citing local officials, also reported that 18 civilians, including children, were killed and six injured in Nangarhar province.

Local police in Nangarhar told AFP that the bombing began around midnight, hitting three areas, and that all the fatalities occurred in civilian homes.

No casualties have yet been reported in Paktika province.

AFP reported that residents in the mountainous Bihsud district of Nangarhar province were searching for bodies beneath the rubble of their collapsed homes.

However, according to local officials, rescue efforts are difficult due to a lack of heavy equipment.

A local resident, Amin Gul Amin (37), said, "These are ordinary people here. The villagers are our relatives. When the bombing started, one survivor was screaming for help."

Previously, on October 9 of last year, Pakistani forces launched airstrikes on Kabul, the Afghan capital, targeting TTP leaders, prompting a retaliatory attack by the Afghan Taliban forces, resulting in over 70 deaths on both sides.

This was the worst armed conflict between the two countries since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement on the 18th of the same month and have since held several peace talks, but the ceasefire has been continuously extended without reaching a final agreement.

Pakistan airstrikes on 7 locations in Afghanistan, killing at least 18 residents [AFP=Yonhap News]