Pakistan launched airstrikes on Taliban facilities hours after Afghanistan carried out its own “retaliatory” attack
Multiple explosions shook Kabul early Friday as Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged military strikes across their volatile border, raising fears of a broader escalation between the neighboring countries.
Residents in the Afghan capital reported hearing at least three blasts along with aircraft overhead hours after Afghan forces launched cross-border attacks against Pakistani military positions. Authorities have not confirmed the precise locations of the explosions or reported casualty figures.
Pakistan said it carried out airstrikes on Taliban facilities inside eastern Afghanistan, including targets in Nangarhar province, under what security officials described as Operation Ghazab Lil Haq (“Wrath of Justice”).
A Pakistani security source told media that an ammunition depot, battalion positions and a sector headquarters were destroyed during the strikes. Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesperson for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, claimed Pakistani forces killed dozens of Afghan fighters and destroyed multiple military posts and armored vehicles in retaliatory operations.
Islamabad said the strikes came after Afghan Taliban forces opened fire on Pakistani border positions late Thursday, killing two Pakistani soldiers and wounding three others.
Afghan authorities, however, said their military offensive was itself a response to earlier Pakistani air raids conducted earlier in the week along border regions. Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghan forces launched “large-scale offensive operations” against Pakistani military installations across several border provinces.
Afghanistan’s military claimed it captured more than a dozen Pakistani army posts and inflicted heavy casualties. Pakistani officials described the Afghan attack as unprovoked and denied losing any positions.
