A damaged building and a shattered car are seen at a temporary camp following a strike in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, Feb. 28, 2026. Three Afghan returnees lost their lives and seven others were injured after Pakistani forces struck a temporary camp of returnees in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province on Saturday, deputy spokesman of the Afghan government Hamdullah Fitrat said. (Photo by Arghand/Xinhua)

KABUL, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Three Afghan returnees lost their lives and seven others were injured after Pakistani forces struck a temporary camp of returnees in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province on Saturday, deputy spokesman of the Afghan government Hamdullah Fitrat said.

Pakistani forces launched the airstrikes and bombarded the temporary camp of returnees in Kandahar at 08:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, Fitrat said in a statement posted on his social media X.

In a related development, an Afghan official claimed that a pilotless aircraft allegedly sent by Pakistan to attack Afghan territory crashed in the eastern Afghanistan Khost province on Saturday.

Tensions between the two neighboring countries have risen in recent days amid a surge in militant violence in border regions. ■

A man is pictured inside a damaged building after a strike hit a temporary camp in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, Feb. 28, 2026. Three Afghan returnees lost their lives and seven others were injured after Pakistani forces struck a temporary camp of returnees in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province on Saturday, deputy spokesman of the Afghan government Hamdullah Fitrat said. (Photo by Arghand/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Feb. 28, 2026 shows an interior view of a damaged building at a temporary camp following a strike in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Three Afghan returnees lost their lives and seven others were injured after Pakistani forces struck a temporary camp of returnees in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province on Saturday, deputy spokesman of the Afghan government Hamdullah Fitrat said. (Photo by Arghand/Xinhua)

Debris of damaged buildings are seen at a temporary camp following a strike in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, Feb. 28, 2026. Three Afghan returnees lost their lives and seven others were injured after Pakistani forces struck a temporary camp of returnees in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province on Saturday, deputy spokesman of the Afghan government Hamdullah Fitrat said. (Photo by Arghand/Xinhua)