Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan kill 10 civilians, Kabul says; Pakistan says only militants hit

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Pakistan carried out airstrikes in two Afghan provinces overnight, both countries said Thursday, with Afghanistan saying 10 civilians were killed, mostly women and children, and that at least 10 were wounded in the bombings.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said its strikes were against militant hideouts in two locations and that initial reports suggested 22 militants had been killed. The casualty claims from either side could not be independently verified.

The strikes come amid repeated cross-border clashes between the two countries, while Pakistan has repeatedly carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan since tensions between the two countries spiraled dramatically earlier this year. The two neighbors have longstanding disputes over militant activity along their border.

The United Nations Mission in Afghanistan said last week that it had documented over 1,100 civilian deaths and injuries in Afghanistan from cross-border violence so far this year. Pakistan denies striking civilians, and says it targets militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Afghanistan denies harboring militants.

The spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Taliban government, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the airstrikes hit civilian homes in southern Helmand province and the eastern province of Kunar, destroying three houses. He gave the initial casualty toll as nine women and children killed, and 11 wounded.

“We condemn this act, and consider this an act of aggression and a crime that violates all universally accepted principles,” he said.

Deputy government spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said 10 people were killed in the strikes, adding that most of the dead were women and children.

Mohammad Hashim, a 30-year-old resident of the village that was bombed in Kunar province, said the strike occurred at around 3 a.m.

“I heard a woman calling out, asking for the stones to be moved off her; she was trapped underneath,” he said. “We pulled her out, she was injured.” He said that digging through the rubble, he also found the bodies of two men and four children.

Another local resident, 32-year-old Mohammad Habib, said the head of the family, who was among those killed, was a shepherd who was not affiliated with any militant or government groups.

“He was a very poor and humble man. He would let his goats out in the morning without anyone even herding them, and they would go out in the morning and return home in the evening, and (Pakistan) martyred him,” he said.

Pakistan's Ministry of Information said the airstrikes were “well planned and calibrated” against militant hideouts and camps, and had “been carried out in Afghanistan with precision and accuracy.” It added that large quantities of weapons and ammunition were located in the hideouts and were destroyed.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of allowing militants, particularly the Pakistani Taliban — formally known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP — to operate from Afghan territory and carry out attacks inside Pakistan. The TTP is separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban, who have ruled Afghanistan since seizing power in 2021. Kabul denies providing the group a safe haven and has rejected Pakistan’s accusations.

“The threat to Pakistan emanates from Afghanistan," Pakistan's ministry said. "Our action precisely targeted the terrorist hubs.”

“Maximum precautions were taken and it was ensured that no collateral damage occurs,” the statement said and added that its campaign “will continue at full pace to wipe out" the threat of militants from the country.

Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Taliban security officers inspect the scene of what Taliban officials said were Pakistani airstrikes in Khost province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

Taliban security officers inspect the scene of what Taliban officials said were Pakistani airstrikes in Khost province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

Taliban security officers inspect the scene of what Taliban officials said were Pakistani airstrikes in Khost province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

Local residents search through rubble after what Afghanistan's Taliban government said was an overnight Pakistani strike on a house in a village in Shaltan district of eastern Kunar province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hedayat Shah)

A copilot stabbed his captain and attempted to crash a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel. Passengers, many of them Israelis, feared for their lives as the FlyDubai aircraft lost half its altitude in about a minute.

Israel scrambled fighter jets out of concern for a possible hijacking as the drama unfolded on Wednesday. The wounded pilot managed to open the cockpit door, and a passenger and a crew member rushed in to subdue the attacker, an Omani national. Other crew members gained control of the aircraft, which landed safely in Saudi Arabia.

The terrifying flight came just days before the anniversary of the militant Hamas group's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that launched the war in Gaza. It has rekindled anxieties about airline security and focused attention on an unsettling question: Are pilots a significant threat to the flying public's safety?

Here’s what we know — and don’t know — about what happened on FlyDubai flight FZ1073:

The distress call came at 8:44 a.m. local time, about two and a half hours after the flight with about 170 passengers left Dubai in the UAE, heading to the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.

Officials later said that a fight had broken out in the cockpit as the copilot tried to stab the pilot and crash the aircraft.

The plane swiftly lost altitude — dropping from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet (around 10,000 meters to 5,100 meters) in the span of about a minute. It then circled close to the Jordanian border before landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, about an hour later.

A person who heard the flight’s communications with air traffic control said the plane was being turned away by Saudi Arabia and Jordan before eventually landing in Tabuk, while passengers screamed in the background. The person who heard the communications spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Aviation experts said they were surprised that the plane did not crash after a descent so extreme that most of the rudder was ripped off the tail.

After landing at Tabuk's Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport, Saudi authorities arrested the copilot.

The injured pilot, Capt. Smit Machchhar, has been praised as a hero in his home country of India. Passengers described how a bloodied Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door to let them in. They restrained the attacker while the Boeing 737 descended sharply, according to witnesses and Israeli authorities.

A plane carrying passengers from the flight landed Wednesday evening in Israel.

A passenger and a crew member managed to enter the cockpit, allowing other crew members to fly the plane to a safe landing, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who cited a passenger he had spoken to.

The cockpit door on all aircraft is locked during flight for security reasons — a measure that became the industry standard after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, in which hijackers broke into the cockpits of four domestic flights in the United States.

Netanyahu said on X that the pilot's opening of the cockpit door had "enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker — preventing a catastrophic midair disaster.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called Machchhar a hero.

“In the face of the gravest danger and despite being seriously injured, he showed immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others. His valor helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy,” Modi wrote on X.

One question surrounding this incident is how anyone on the aircraft — especially a pilot — was able to get a knife onboard. It's unclear how big the knife was that was used in the attack or if it was a knife.

In an interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity that aired Wednesday night, Netanyahu said the attacker might have hit the captain with an axe. Airlines are generally required to carry crash axes in the cockpit for use in an emergency to break open a window to escape or break open a panel to access a fire.

Pilots undergo rigorous screening, including passing through metal detectors, at checkpoints at all airports. It's also standard for airlines to vet their pilots' background for criminal and employment history, their physical and mental health, as well as having them undergo intelligence and security screening.

Israel has some of the most stringent airline security measures worldwide. Passengers on Israel-bound flights regularly are taken aside for questioning and baggage searches after passing through normal airport security. It's unclear whether the pilots of the FlyDubai flight had been screened as vigorously.

Associated Press writers David Rising in Bangkok, Thailand, and Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi contributed to this report.

Passengers embark on a FlyDubai aircraft at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Holding balloons people wait for the arrival of passengers at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A FlyDubai aircraft carrying Israelis who experienced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia arrives at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)