Pakistan launches deadly strikes along Afghan border

Pakistan launches deadly strikes along Afghan borderImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan of harbouring terrorists who carry out attacks on its soil, a claim the Taliban government rejectsByBBC Pashto and BBC UrduPublished5 minutes agoPakistan launched airstrikes and sent ground troops into Afghan provinces along its western border on Sunday, killing dozens of civilians, officials say.Afghanistan's Taliban government condemned the "cowardly act" and called it "a crime and atrocity". At least 100 people have been killed or wounded, Taliban officials told BBC Pashto.Twenty-nine militants were killed in strikes targeted at their hideouts, Pakistan's information minister Attaullah Tarar said, adding that the strikes were a response to "recent terrorist attacks against innocent people".Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan of harbouring terrorists who carry out attacks on its soil, a claim the Taliban government rejects.Why are Afghanistan and Pakistan fighting?Published27 FebruaryKabul, in turn, has previously accused Islamabad of carrying out unprovoked attacks in which civilians were killed - though Pakistan says it only targets militants.The two countries had agreed to a ceasefire last October following weeks of deadly clashes. As with past internationally-mediated truce deals, however, that ceasefire has since fallen apart.The BBC has not independently confirmed the casualty figures claimed by the Pakistani and Taliban governments in the latest attacks.Afghanistan's Taliban government says the strikes hit civilian homes, while Pakistan says they were targeted at militant hideouts in Afghanistan's Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces.Casualties were concentrated in Mandikhel, a village in the Paktika province, Taliban officials say.The attacks on Sunday come a day after three members of the Sindh Rangers, a Pakistani paramilitary force, were killed at their headquarters in Karac...