Pakistan shoots down two Afghan Taliban drones near Kohat

Pakistan's armed forces shot down two rudimentary drones near Kohat on Wednesday, after the aircraft were launched from across the Afghan border, security sources said.

The drones were intercepted using a soft kill approximately seven kilometres from Kohat city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the sources told Dawn. They described the aircraft as rudimentary and attributed the launch to the Afghan Taliban administration.

"On September 23, security forces shot down by soft kill two rudimentary drones fired by [the] Afghan Taliban regime seven kilometres from Kohat city," the sources were quoted as saying by Dawn.

Minute Mirror reported the same account, saying the drones were detected and neutralised seven kilometres from Kohat city and that heightened vigilance continues along Pakistan's western frontier.

Security sources said Pakistan's air defence systems remain active around the clock against threats originating across the border. They provided no details about any casualties, damage on the ground, or the drones' intended target, and there was no immediate response from Afghan Taliban authorities.

The incident is the latest in a series of border security episodes between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan has repeatedly expressed concern about militant activity from Afghan soil, while the Taliban administration has denied involvement in cross-border attacks.

In a related statement covered by Afghanistan International, Pakistan's defence minister was reported as saying that 70 to 80 percent of attackers in Pakistan are Afghans. The outlet's report did not name the minister or provide details of when and where the remarks were made.

Separately, Bhaskar English claimed that Pakistan has recruited 2,000 former Afghan soldiers, including many who fought the Taliban, to fight Baloch rebels. That claim could not be independently confirmed and was not addressed by Pakistani officials in the available reports.

Skardu Times could not verify the statements beyond the outlets that published them.