The state-run Bakhtar News Agency has announced that at least 21 civilians have lost their lives as a result of rocket attacks attributed to Pakistani forces on parts of Paktika province.

According to residents of Barmal district, the attacks targeted the villages of Dungar Ligad and Berim yesterday. Local sources say that seven women and two children are among the victims, and three others were injured.

Pakistani officials have not commented on the incident at the time of publication.

This comes while the Pakistani army had previously reported that 274 Taliban forces were killed in border clashes. A possible connection between these clashes and the recent attacks on residential areas in Paktika has not yet been determined.