The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) said on Thursday Pakistani aircraft carried out airstrikes on civilian homes in Kunar and Helmand provinces last night, killing nine Afghan civilians, including women and children.

IEA spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on X that the strikes targeted the Chogam area of Shultan district in Kunar and the Safar area of Garmser district in Helmand.

According to Mujahid, 11 other people were injured and three homes were destroyed in the attacks.

He condemned the strikes as an act of aggression and a crime, saying they violated all accepted principles.

The US administration has extended the operation of a camp in Qatar housing more than 1,000 Afghans who supported US forces during the war in Afghanistan, as well as relatives of American service members.

The United States has agreed to keep Camp As Sayliyah open for another nine months after it had been scheduled to close at the end of the US fiscal year, according to The Associated Press.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the extension.

The decision affects 1,039 Afghans, many of whom worked as interpreters or in other roles supporting US forces between 2001 and 2021. Many have remained in Qatar for more than a year while Washington considers options for their resettlement.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Congress in June that Washington was discussing possible arrangements for resettling the Afghans in third countries. AP has previously reported that the Democratic Republic of Congo was among the countries considered by the administration.

The US State Department said it continues to seek a solution that would ensure the safety of those remaining at the camp while addressing US security concerns.

The department has also described the camp as part of a legacy of the Biden administration’s Afghan resettlement effort, a characterization disputed by some former US officials and refugee advocates.

According to figures cited by AfghanEvac, more than 70 percent of the camp’s residents are women and children. The organization has been advocating for the resettlement of Afghans who have remained in limbo following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

Shawn VanDiver, a US Navy veteran and head of AfghanEvac, welcomed the nine-month extension but said a permanent solution was still needed.

Despite the extension, the residents have not been given a clear pathway to the United States. AfghanEvac says only five Afghans from the camp have been admitted to the US since October 2025.

Advocates have warned that without alternative resettlement arrangements, some residents could eventually face the possibility of returning to Afghanistan.

The State Department said it would use the nine-month extension to continue exploring options for the voluntary resettlement of all Camp As Sayliyah residents.

A U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) review has identified errors in 40% of the asylum files examined under the Biden-era Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) programme, raising concerns about gaps in the screening and adjudication process.

According to a DHS statement, the department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed the programme between March 2024 and January 2025 after concerns that accelerated processing requirements could limit the ability of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to conduct comprehensive reviews.

The review found that USCIS missed opportunities in some cases to link aliases provided by applicants with other information that could potentially have affected their eligibility for asylum, DHS said.

Operation Allies Welcome was established under the Biden administration following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Under the Afghanistan Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022, USCIS was required to interview OAW asylum applicants within 45 days of filing.

Following a 2023 lawsuit against DHS, a settlement required USCIS to adjudicate 90% of OAW asylum applications within 150 days.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticized the programme, saying established asylum-screening procedures had not been followed and arguing that the identified errors could create security risks.

The DHS statement cited several cases involving Afghan nationals admitted to the United States through OAW who were later arrested or charged.

These included an Afghan national arrested in November 2025 on federal charges of threatening to kill Americans; an individual identified by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as an ISIS-K member who was arrested in December 2025; and another Afghan national arrested in March 2026 who had previously been convicted of indecent exposure involving a minor.

DHS said the findings demonstrate the need for stronger screening procedures in asylum processing.

The reported 40% error rate refers to errors identified in the asylum files reviewed by the OIG. It does not mean that 40% of the applicants were members of terrorist groups or had criminal records.

The findings and security concerns cited in the statement are those of DHS and its interpretation of the OIG review.