Afghanistan said it had fired at Pakistani aircraft over Kabul after explosions and gunfire rocked the capital early on Sunday, marking a sharp escalation in fighting between the two neighbours.
Blasts echoed across parts of Kabul before sunrise, followed by bursts of gunfire, a Reuters witness said. It was not immediately clear what had been targeted or whether there had been casualties.
Taliban administration spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghan air defences had engaged Pakistani aircraft over the city.
"Air defence attacks were carried out in Kabul against Pakistani aircraft. Kabul residents should not be concerned," Mujahid said.
Pakistan’s prime minister’s office, information ministry and military did not respond to requests for comment.
The exchange follows Pakistani air strikes inside Afghanistan earlier this week, which Islamabad said targeted militant infrastructure. Kabul condemned those strikes as a violation of its sovereignty and announced retaliatory operations along the countries’ 2,600km (1,615-mile) border.
The Taliban-run government denies harbouring militants after Pakistan accused it of sheltering fighters from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad says is waging an insurgency inside Pakistan.
The latest confrontation represents the heaviest fighting in years between the neighbours and has raised fears of a prolonged border conflict.
Pakistani security sources said an operation known as "Ghazab Lil Haq", meaning "Wrath for the Truth", was under way, and claimed Pakistani forces had destroyed Afghan posts and camps.
Both sides have reported heavy losses and issued conflicting casualty figures. Reuters was unable to independently verify the claims.
The violence comes amid broader regional instability following U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran and retaliatory attacks on U.S. targets in Gulf states, adding to concerns about escalation across the region.
Diplomatic efforts have intensified, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Russia, China, the European Union and the United Nations urging restraint and calling for talks.
The U.S. said it supports Pakistan’s right to defend itself.
Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif described the situation as "open war".
Afghanistan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani warned the conflict would be "very costly", adding that only front-line forces were currently engaged and that Afghanistan had yet to fully deploy its military.
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Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers said on Friday (27 February) they were ready to negotiate after Pakistan bombed their forces in several Afghan cities, including Kabul and Kandahar, and Islamabad declared the neighbours were now in "open war".
Afghan and Pakistani forces traded airstrikes and artillery fire along the Durand Line on Thursday night, killing dozens on both sides, as Pakistan’s defence minister warned the two countries were now in “open war” after months of escalating clashes.
Pakistani air strikes hit a weapons depot on the western outskirts of Kabul overnight, triggering hours of secondary explosions that rattled homes across the Afghan capital and left residents fearing further violence.
Pakistan’s declaration of an “open war” with Afghanistan must be understood in the context of months of escalating violence, regional analysts have said, describing the latest developments as a significant shift in the nature of the conflict.
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Governments across the region responded swiftly to Israel’s strikes on Iran, closing airspace, issuing travel advisories and activating contingency plans amid fears of escalation.
Pakistani air strikes hit a weapons depot on the western outskirts of Kabul overnight, triggering hours of secondary explosions that rattled homes across the Afghan capital and left residents fearing further violence.
A senior Iranian official has warned Israel to “prepare for what is coming”, insisting that Tehran’s response to the latest escalation in the Middle East will be made openly and without limits.
Cuba has released extensive details of a deadly midweek shootout at sea, showing rifles, pistols and nearly 13,000 rounds of ammunition that it says were carried by a group of exiles who attempted to enter the island by speedboat.
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers said on Friday (27 February) they were ready to negotiate after Pakistan bombed their forces in several Afghan cities, including Kabul and Kandahar, and Islamabad declared the neighbours were now in "open war".
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacuating diplomatic staff amid fears of further instability.
Two people were killed and around 40 injured when a tram derailed in central Milan on Friday (27 February), a spokesperson for the local fire service said.
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