Afghanistan Says Pakistan Rocket Attacks Killed Nine Civilians

(Bloomberg) -- Afghanistan is “fully ready to retaliate” if there’s further Pakistani military action along its border after rocket attacks, allegedly by Pakistan troops, killed nine civilians and wounded 50 others, the country’s defense ministry said.

Yesterday’s attacks occurred along the border in residential areas in the southern Kandahar province, the statement says. A child was among the dead.

Afghanistan’s Army Chief of Staff, Mohammad Yasin Zia, ordered more soldiers to be deployed to the area with “heavy and light weapons” to retaliate against any further Pakistani military attacks, the statement says.

On July 26, Afghanistan said it had written to United Nations Security Council over continued violations of its territory by Pakistani military forces and said it would ask the UN to take necessary measures to end them if the situation is not de-escalated bilaterally, the Press Trust of India reported.

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