At least 30 people, including women and children, were killed in Pakistan Air Force strikes targeting TTP militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tirah Valley, triggering protests and calls for accountability.

At least 30 people, including women and children, were killed early Monday when the Pakistan Air Force carried out airstrikes in the Tirah Valley of Khyber district. The strikes, reportedly aimed at Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hideouts, have drawn strong condemnation after civilian casualties and widespread destruction.

According to local reports, fighter jets dropped at least eight LS-6 bombs on Matre Dara village around 2 a.m. Police officials said the militants had been using a residential compound to store explosives, which ignited during the strikes, destroying several houses.

Zafar Khan, a local police officer, told the Associated Press that two senior Taliban commanders — Aman Gul and Masood Khan — were using the compound as a bomb-making facility. He alleged that militants had been using civilians as human shields and had recently stored weapons in mosques across the district.

Footage circulating on social media showed injured children lying on makeshift beds as residents searched through rubble. Locals described the aftermath as catastrophic, with entire families caught in the blast. A senior police officer, speaking to AFP, confirmed that at least four homes were destroyed in the attack but did not clarify who ordered the strikes.

The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) condemned the air raids, accusing the government of turning its guns on its own people. “If in Tirah Akakhel, our own protectors have mercilessly martyred innocent children, youth, and women, staining the earth with blood, this is an open crime against humanity,” Abdul Ghani Afridi, a PTI lawmaker from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, wrote on X. He described the bombing as “state brutality” and called for accountability

About 2,000 people staged a protest in a nearby town on Monday afternoon, demanding justice for the victims. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan also expressed alarm, stating it was “deeply shocked” by the loss of life. “We demand an immediate and impartial inquiry into the incident and that those responsible be held accountable,” the rights body said in a statement.

As of Monday evening, Pakistan’s federal government had not issued any statement regarding the operation. The strikes come amid a surge in attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has intensified its campaign since the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Many TTP fighters are believed to be operating out of safe havens across the border in Afghanistan.