Reporting snapshot · 23 September 2026. The downing of the eight drones is reported by Pakistani security sources and has not been independently verified. Details of the related border firing in Kurram and of the September 21 strikes are attributed claims from the same official channel. Figures may be updated as more information emerges.
What happened
Pakistan’s armed forces shot down eight drones that entered the country’s airspace from Afghanistan on Wednesday morning, 23 September, security sources said. Four of the drones were brought down in areas adjacent to the Torkham border, while the other four were shot down in mountainous areas near Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Security sources told the national wire service APP that the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Air Force detected and intercepted the drones before they could reach their targets. The Express Tribune quoted the sources as saying the “active and alert air defence system” had detected and brought down all eight drones, thwarting what they described as an attempt by the Afghan Taliban regime to target public places. The wreckage of the downed drones was being recovered and taken into custody, The News International reported.
The sources described the intrusion as evidence of the Afghan Taliban regime’s “direct support and patronage of terrorists”, calling it a “cowardly attempt” that had been successfully thwarted, according to Geo News.
Separately, security sources said forces had foiled an infiltration attempt by Fitna al-Khawarij militants from Afghanistan into the Kurram sector overnight. The attempt was said to have been made under the supervision of the Afghan Taliban from posts in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar and Paktia provinces. After the failed bid, the sources said, the Afghan Taliban opened unprovoked fire on Pakistani border posts using heavy weapons, mortars and other arms, and that security forces responded by targeting several Afghan Taliban border posts, mortar positions and defensive locations with small and heavy weapons, including artillery.
What came before
The drone downings came two days after Pakistan carried out an intelligence-based ground operation and airstrikes against militant hideouts in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including near the border with Afghanistan, in an escalation that followed a series of attacks on police posts. The Ministry of Information announced on Monday that a “well planned intelligence-based ground operation” had been conducted around Kohat, Hangu and Thal, followed by “calibrated air strikes” against the hideouts and safe havens of militant organisations responsible for a spate of attacks across the province.
The ground operation was conducted on September 20 in Kohat and Hangu districts, with the ministry saying nine militants were killed and several injured. It added that, based on credible intelligence, selective targeting of terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to Fitna al-Khawarij and its affiliates had also been carried out in the border region with Afghanistan, destroying three targets including a suicide-bomber training centre and killing 28 militants.
The strikes followed a major attack on the old Police Lines in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in which 23 people — including 15 police personnel — were killed and around 100 injured during Friday prayers, according to The Express Tribune. Ittihadul Mujahideen Pakistan (IMP), led by the Afghanistan-based Hafiz Gul Bahadur, later claimed responsibility for the bombing. In a separate warning after the Kohat attack, Pakistan said it had the “will and capability” to eliminate terror threats “wherever they are”, and called on the international community to press the Afghan Taliban to act against terrorist groups.
A day before the drone downings, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar called for “concrete and verifiable” action to prevent Afghan soil from being used for terrorism against neighbouring countries, particularly Pakistan, while addressing the OIC Contact Group on Afghanistan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Why it matters
The episode is the latest in months of cross-border tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of harbouring militant groups, especially the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), that launch attacks inside Pakistan; Kabul denies the allegation and says militancy is Pakistan’s domestic problem.
Pakistan has reported previous drone incidents. On 1 July, security forces shot down four “rudimentary drones” launched from Afghanistan into Balochistan, and the military warned that further cross-border provocations would draw a strong response. In March, forces intercepted rudimentary drones launched by the Afghan Taliban, with falling debris causing injuries to civilians in Quetta, Kohat and Rawalpindi, according to The Express Tribune’s account of the ISPR statement. A separate report covered the July interception in detail.
The 23 September downings came as Pakistan pressed its case against the Taliban at the UN, and as the wider conflict between the two neighbours — which has involved air strikes, border clashes and a ground operation under the banner of Operation Ghazab-lil-Haq since late February — showed little sign of abating. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has borne much of the violence, with more than 500 militant attacks recorded across the province last year, a 50 percent rise on the previous year, The Express Tribune reported.
What is still uncertain
All of the details in this report come from Pakistani security sources and the Ministry of Information; there was no independent confirmation of the drone downings, the Kurram infiltration attempt, or the border firing at the time of writing. The Taliban authorities in Kabul had not publicly responded to the specific claims of the 23 September incidents.
The number of casualties from the earlier Kohat and Hangu operations is also disputed: Pakistani officials reported killing 37 militants in the combined ground operation and airstrikes of September 20-21, while casualty claims from across the border have not been independently verified. The state’s use of the term Fitna al-Khawarij refers to groups affiliated with the banned TTP, which the authorities blame for much of the recent violence.
The significance of the drone incursions — whether they represent reconnaissance, harassment, or an attempted attack — has not been established. The sources described the drones as rudimentary but did not specify their payloads or launch points beyond the border areas of Nangarhar and Paktia.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published material based on Pakistani security sources, not independent reporting. Sources were reviewed on 23 September 2026.
- APP — Pakistan shoots down eight Afghan drones near border23 September 2026 · The core claim that the army and air force intercepted and shot down eight drones, four near Torkham and four near Kohat, before they reached their targets, and the accusation of Afghan Taliban support for terrorist groups.
- Geo News — Pakistan 'shoots down Taliban regime's eight drones' along Afghan border23 September 2026 · The locations of the four drone downings near Torkham and four near Kohat, the recovery of wreckage, the foiled Kurram infiltration attempt, and the border firing between Pakistani and Afghan Taliban posts.
- The News International — Pakistan downs eight drones fired by Taliban regime from Afghanistan: security sources23 September 2026 · The air-defence description, the "cowardly attempt" characterisation, the Ministry of Information's account of the September 20-21 ground operation and airstrikes, and the earlier Kohat attacks.
- The Express Tribune — Eight drones shot down after entering Pakistan from Afghanistan: security sources23 September 2026 · The Kohat Police Lines attack toll (23 killed, including 15 police), the IMP claim of responsibility, previous drone incidents, Dar's OIC address, and the KP violence statistics.
