Sources on the ground confirm at least 28 civilians dead, including women and children, after Pakistani military aircraft struck two villages in Afghanistan's eastern Khost province earlier today. The attack, which Pakistani officials claim targeted Taliban hideouts, has been condemned by Kabul as a 'wanton act of aggression.' The UK, seizing on the mounting civilian toll, has called for an emergency session of the UN Security Council, citing gross violations of international law.
Uncovered documents obtained by this desk suggest the strikes were authorised without prior coordination with US or NATO forces, raising fresh questions about the chain of command in a region still scarred by two decades of war. Witnesses from the scene describe a landscape of rubble and charred bodies, with survivors digging through debris with bare hands. 'They bombed a wedding,' one local elder told a colleague in a voice shaking with rage.
'There were no fighters here, only families.' The attack threatens to unravel already fragile peace talks between the Taliban and Pakistani officials. Meanwhile, the UN has yet to confirm whether it will convene, but the UK's call adds pressure to an organisation often paralysed by veto politics.
This is a story that will not fade. Count the bodies. Follow the denials.
