The Albany Gazette - Afghanistan says deadly Pakistani strikes hit Helmand

Afghanistan and Pakistan went to war earlier this year and, with no permanent resolution to security issues reached, there have been sporadic attacks since a March truce.

The latest strikes hit Helmand as well as Kunar, which borders Pakistan, killing 10 civilians, according to the Taliban government's deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat.

Islamabad confirmed "planned and calibrated" strikes in Afghanistan, without detailing locations, which it said targeted militants.

Two Helmand residents told AFP that three airstrikes hit their village.

Pakistan's information ministry said two locations in Afghanistan were hit "based on credible intelligence, selective targeting of terrorist camps and hideouts".

Alongside neighbouring Kandahar province, which was hit by an airstrike last week, Helmand in southern Afghanistan holds great importance for the Taliban movement.

Speaking by phone from Helmand's Safar village, 50-year-old resident Abdul Wahid said the strikes killed four people and wounded seven.

Another villager, Qudrat Ullah, said he was home when his neighbours' house was hit.

"The whole area is destroyed," the 32-year-old said, adding that residents were being kept away from the strike sites.

"There were civilians, children, women; they have killed them. There is no military or anything else," he told AFP by phone.

Pakistan's information ministry reported an initial toll of 22 militants killed, and weapons and ammunition destroyed.

- 'Screaming for help' -

Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of harbouring militants behind frequent bomb and gun attacks in Pakistan, which have killed both civilians and security personnel.

The Taliban government denies this and criticises Pakistan for violating Afghanistan's sovereignty and killing civilians.

In mountainous Kunar province, an AFP journalist saw the remains of stone houses in the remote Chugam Valley.

Mohammad Hashim, a farmer, said he rushed to rescue residents after the pre-dawn attack.

"There was a woman, she was screaming for help to get her out of the rubble. She was having trouble breathing and told us that there are more people over there," the 30-year-old told AFP.

"We went there to dig, and there was a man with four children who were killed," he added.

The latest strikes follow bombardment last week on multiple Afghan provinces, which the Taliban government said killed civilians. Pakistan said it targeted militants.

More than 500 civilians have been killed in violence between the two countries since October, according to figures from the United Nations mission in Afghanistan.

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(F.Allen--TAG)