Pakistan bombards Kabul, other cities as clashes with Afghanistan intensify

Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan intensified as Islamabad bombed the latter’s capital, Kabul, and other cities on Friday. The strikes on Kabul came following attacks by Afghan forces against Pakistani military positions along their shared border earlier.

According to Al Jazeera, the bombing in the Afghan capital started at 1:50 am (local time). A second air raid followed this. Meanwhile, Afghan anti-aircraft guns opened fire after the first raid and continued firing after the second.

A source close to the Afghan government confirmed to Al Jazeera that an air strike had hit Kabul, and Pakistani warplanes also hit a military base in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan. The strikes were conducted hours after Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan in the latest escalation of violence between the neighbouring countries that made a Qatar-mediated ceasefire appear increasingly shaky.

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Tensions intensify

As per the report, at least three explosions were heard in Kabul, but there was no immediate information on the exact location of the strikes in the Afghan capital, or of any potential casualties. Government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistan also carried out airstrikes in Kandahar to the south and in the southeastern province of Paktia.

Meanwhile, two senior Pakistani security officials told The Associated Press that Pakistan’s military carried out airstrikes targeting what they described as Afghan military facilities in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia provinces, allegedly destroying two brigade bases.

Afghanistan said its military launched its attack across the border into Pakistan late Thursday in retaliation for deadly Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan border areas on Sunday. The Afghan authorities also claimed to have captured more than a dozen Pakistani army posts.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani government described last Sunday’s airstrikes as an attack on militants harboured in the area and called Thursday’s Afghan attack as unprovoked, dismissing claims that army posts had been captured.

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With inputs from The Associated Press.