At least 23 civilians, including women and children, were killed on Monday in an aerial strike on homes in Pakistan’s restive Khyber district, near the Afghan border, according to police and security sources. The attack, which struck the remote Tirah Valley, comes as the region faces a surge in violence linked to the Pakistani Taliban (TTP).
A senior police officer in Tirah told AFP that four houses were “completely destroyed” during the night raid. Among the dead were seven women and four children, he said, requesting anonymity. While no official statement has been issued by the government or the armed forces, opposition lawmakers directly accused the military of carrying out the bombing as part of an ongoing counter-terrorism campaign.
“It was the security force’s aircraft that carried out the shelling. It’s their shelling that killed 23 people,” said Iqbal Afridi, a member of the National Assembly representing Khyber tribal district.
The Tirah Valley, a rugged and mountainous region that straddles the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, has long been a stronghold for TTP militants. Security officials in Peshawar confirmed the casualty figures and said the area hosts “dozens of TTP hideouts” where fighters often live alongside their families.
Over the past year, the TTP has escalated attacks on Pakistani security forces, targeting checkpoints, convoys, and bases in border areas. In response, the military has intensified its operations in the region, but Monday’s incident has fueled controversy over civilian casualties in counter-terrorism raids.
The lack of an official acknowledgment has further stoked anger and suspicion among locals. On Monday afternoon, an estimated 2,000 people gathered in a nearby town to protest against the raid, demanding accountability for the deaths and questioning the military’s tactics in its fight against insurgents.
The TTP, which shares ideological ties with the Afghan Taliban but operates independently, has waged a violent campaign against Pakistan’s state institutions for over a decade. Its resurgence since the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul in 2021 has alarmed officials in Islamabad, who fear the border region could once again become a launchpad for cross-border militancy.
Human rights advocates have repeatedly raised concerns about the impact of counter-terrorism operations on civilians in Pakistan’s tribal belt, warning that civilian deaths risk fueling resentment and further radicalization. Monday’s strike appears to underline those fears, with opposition figures accusing the military of operating with impunity.
As protests grow and calls for an inquiry intensify, the government remains silent on the raid. The deaths have once again highlighted the fragile security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the line between militant and civilian is often blurred in one of Pakistan’s most volatile frontiers.
