In-depth daily coverage of armed conflicts, terrorism, and security developments across South and Central Asia including Afghanistan, Pakistan, India-Kashmir, and the Central Asian republics.
Pakistan launched cross-border airstrikes against seven TTP and ISKP camps across three Afghan provinces on February 22, claiming 80 or more militants killed, in the most significant Pakistan-Afghanistan military escalation since the October 2025 ceasefire collapsed. Afghanistan condemned the strikes as a violation of territorial integrity and summoned Pakistan's ambassador. Civilian casualties were reported, with the International Human Rights Foundation documenting 16 members of a single family killed in Nangarhar's Girdi Kas village. Indian security forces killed three Jaish-e-Mohammed militants, including senior commander Saifullah, in Kishtwar district during Operation Trashi-I. Cross-border firing was confirmed along the Line of Control in Kupwara's Nowgam Sector. Pakistan security forces killed five militants in a separate Pishin District operation in Balochistan. In Manipur, three militant cadres from RPF/PLA, KCP(PWG), and UNLF were arrested. No armed conflict events were confirmed in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, or the Central Asian republics.
Pakistan Air Force jets struck seven TTP and ISKP camps and hideouts across three Afghan provinces beginning around midnight on February 22, in the largest Pakistani cross-border military operation since October 2025, according to Dawn and NPR. The ISPR characterized the strikes as intelligence-based selective targeting of Fitna al-Khawarij (the military's designation for TTP), its affiliates, and Islamic State Khorasan Province positions.
Strikes hit targets in Nangarhar Province (Behsud, Khogyani, and Ghani Khel districts), Paktika Province (Bermal and Urgun districts), and reportedly Khost Province. Pakistan identified seven named facilities destroyed, including two designated training centers in Nangarhar and camps attributed to named commanders in Paktika. Reports indicate F-16 and JF-17 Thunder aircraft were deployed, according to multiple sources including Al Jazeera and Bloomberg.
Casualty figures are sharply disputed. Pakistan's Deputy Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry initially claimed 70 or more militants killed, later revised upward to 80 by state media, but provided no evidence. The Afghan Red Crescent's Nangarhar provincial director reported 18 killed and several wounded. The International Human Rights Foundation documented one strike on Girdi Kas village in Behsud district that killed 16 members of a single family, ranging from a one-year-old to an 80-year-old elder named Shahabuddin, with only two children surviving, according to Republic World. Local tribal elder Habib Ullah told the Associated Press the dead were ordinary villagers, not militants. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid reported dozens of casualties including women and children.
Pakistan cited three specific provocations: the February 6 ISKP mosque bombing in Islamabad that killed 31 worshippers; the February 16 Bajaur checkpoint attack that killed 11 soldiers and a child (the attacker was identified as an Afghan national from Balkh province who had served in Taliban special forces, according to Daily Times Pakistan); and the February 21 Bannu suicide bombing that killed Lieutenant Colonel Shahzada Gul Faraz and Sepoy Karamat Shah when a vehicle-borne IED rammed their convoy. The Bannu attack, attributed to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur network's Itihad-ul-Mujahideen faction, served as the immediate trigger, with the airstrikes commencing within hours.
Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Pakistan's ambassador and delivered a formal protest note on February 22. The Afghan Defence Ministry condemned the strikes as a violation of territorial integrity and vowed a measured and appropriate response, according to Al Jazeera. In an unusual alignment, the National Resistance Front, the main anti-Taliban armed opposition, publicly endorsed the strikes, with senior member Fazal Ahmad Manawi calling them a benefit for the region, according to Hamariweb.
India's External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal condemned the strikes as an attempt by Pakistan to externalize its internal failures, according to WION News. China's Foreign Ministry called for restraint. The strikes tested the fragile architecture built through Qatar-mediated talks in October 2025 and failed Istanbul negotiations in November 2025. Pakistan's Defence Minister had warned on February 11 of action before Ramadan, and ISPR declared the Taliban government had failed to prevent Afghan soil from being used for attacks on Pakistan.
Indian security forces killed three Jaish-e-Mohammed militants, including senior commander Saifullah (also known as Saifullah Baloch), during Operation Trashi-I in the Passerkut area of Chatroo belt, Kishtwar district, Jammu and Kashmir, according to Kashmir Observer and multiple local outlets.
Contact was established at approximately 10:30 to 11:00 AM after intelligence inputs from J&K Police, the Intelligence Bureau, and Army sources. The operation was conducted by CIF (Counter-Intelligence Force) Delta of the Army's White Knight Corps alongside J&K Police and CRPF. Militants were hiding inside a mud house. When search parties approached, they opened fire, triggering an intense exchange. The structure caught fire during the gunfight. Initial reports cited two killed, but a third body was recovered from the gutted hideout later that evening, according to Kashmir Dot Com.
Saifullah had infiltrated into J&K approximately five years ago and was believed to have masterminded several attacks, including a July 2024 incident that killed four soldiers. He had evaded multiple previous encounters. Two associates, both believed to be Pakistani nationals, were also killed. Recoveries included two AK-47 rifles, ammunition, and other war-like stores. Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Pratik Sharma commended troops for swift and precise action. With this operation, seven JeM militants have been eliminated in the Jammu region in 2026.
Reporting confirmed on February 22 that Pakistani forces had opened fire on Indian forward positions at Toori Mar Gali, Nowgam Sector, Kupwara District, on February 20. Pakistani forces fired small arms at Indian positions around noon, according to the Sunday Guardian Live. Indian Army troops responded, and the exchange was brief with no casualties reported on the Indian side. This represented the first confirmed ceasefire violation in the sector in several weeks, occurring against the backdrop of the May 2025 Operation Sindoor and the subsequent ceasefire agreement.
Separately, search operations continued in Rajouri's Sunderbani Sector following the February 19 infiltration attempt in which troops of the Crossed Swords Division recovered an AK-47, two magazines, three rucksacks, and blood-stained tracks at Nathua Tibba. These operations fall under the broader Operation Thrashi counter-terrorism offensive across the Jammu region, targeting an estimated 30 to 35 active Pakistani militants in the eastern Chenab valley.
Pakistan security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Pishin District, Balochistan on February 22 under Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, according to Daily Pioneer and Shafaqna Pakistan. Five militants were killed, including one suicide bomber who detonated his explosives while four others were neutralized by coordinated firepower. Weapons, ammunition, and explosives were recovered. Two security personnel were also killed during the operation.
The February 21 Bannu suicide bombing that precipitated the Afghanistan strikes was itself part of an escalating pattern. The attacker, linked to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur network, targeted a military convoy conducting an intelligence-based operation. Five militants were killed in the preceding firefight before the bomber detonated his vehicle, killing Lt Col Faraz and Sepoy Shah, according to Al Jazeera. February 2026 has been extraordinarily violent for Pakistan, with the BLA's Operation Herof 2.0 campaign (36 civilians and 22 security forces killed), the Islamabad mosque bombing (31 killed), the Bajaur checkpoint attack (11 soldiers killed), the Harnai mining convoy bombing (11 killed), and multiple smaller incidents across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
In Manipur, security forces arrested three militant cadres on February 22: an RPF/PLA member involved in extortion in Imphal East, a KCP(PWG) cadre, and a UNLF member, according to ANI News and Daily Prabhat. The state remained under President's Rule with a new Chief Minister sworn in February 5. Ethnic violence between Tangkhul Naga and Kuki communities had erupted in Ukhrul district earlier in the month, with 30 houses torched and internet suspended, according to Gulf News.
In Nepal, an indefinite curfew continued in Gaur, Rautahat district, following communal violence originating from a February 20 wedding ceremony incident, with the Nepal Army deployed, according to Nepal News. No armed conflict events were confirmed on February 22 in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, or the Central Asian republics (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, or Turkmenistan). No specific anti-Naxal combat events were confirmed for February 22, though the 2,000-person combing operation at Karregutta hillocks on the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border continued from the previous day's encounter that killed five CPI(Maoist) members.