Taliban security personnel stand guard near the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Nangarhar province on Feb. 27, 2026.
Aimal Zahir | Afp | Getty Images
Pakistanbombed Taliban governmenttargetsinAfghanistan’s majorcitieson Thursday night, officials from both countries said on Friday, withPakistan’s defenseministercalling the conflict “open war”.
Security sources inPakistansaid the strikes involved air-to-ground missile attacks on Talibanmilitary officesand posts in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia as well asground clashesin multiple sectors along the border between the Islamic nations.
The Taliban said it launched what it described as retaliatory attacks onPakistani military installations.
Both sides reported heavy losses, issuing sharply differing figures that Reuters could not independently verify.
“Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you (Afghanistan),”Pakistani DefenceMinisterKhawaja Muhammad Asif said on Friday.
Relations between Kabul and Islamabad have been strained by a long-running dispute overPakistan’s accusation thatAfghanistan harbors militants carrying out attacks across the border. The Taliban have denied the charge and saidPakistan’s security is an internal problem.
The strikeson Taliban government installations are a major escalation, andthreaten a protracted conflict along the 2,600-km (1,615-mile) frontier.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah MujahidconfirmedPakistani forces carried out air strikes in parts of Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia but did not give details.
Kandahar is the headquarters of the Taliban and the city where supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada is based.
Video shared byPakistani security officials showed flashes of light in the night from firing along the border and the sound of heavy artillery. A video of strikes on Kabul, for which Reuters was able to verify the location, showed thick plumes of black smoke rising from two sites and a massive blaze in part of the capital.
Another video showed a building on fire, which the officials said was a Taliban headquarters in Paktia province.
“Pakistani counter-strikes againsttargetsinAfghanistan continue,” aPakistani government spokesperson, Mosharraf Zaidi, said in a post on X, describing the action as a response to “unprovokedAfghanattacks.”
Reuters witnessesin Kabul said many ambulance sirens could be heard following loud blasts and the sound of jets.
Zaidi said 133AfghanTaliban fighters were killed and more than 200 wounded, with 27 posts destroyed and nine captured.
Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, said 55Pakistani soldiers were killed and 19 posts seized, while eight Taliban fighters were killed, 11 wounded and 13 civilians injured in Nangarhar province.
High security
Pakistan’smilitary capabilitiesare vastly superior toAfghanistan. However, the Taliban are adept at guerrilla warfare, hardened by decades of fighting with U.S.-led forces, before returning to power in 2021.
ClashesbetweenPakistanandAfghanistan in October killed dozens of soldiers until negotiations facilitated by Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia brought an end to the hostilities.
Pakistanand Saudi Arabia’s foreignministers spoke on Friday to discuss reducing tensions,Riyadh’s foreignoffice said without providing details on whether Riyadh was involved in brokering a ceasefire.
Russia, the only country to formally recognize the Taliban government, called for an end to hostilities and said it would consider mediating talks if asked by both parties, state media reported citing Moscow’s foreign ministry.
Pakistanhas been on high security alert since it launched air strikes earlier this week that Islamabad said targeted camps of Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), orPakistani Taliban, and Islamic State militants in easternAfghanistan.
Kabuland the United Nations saidthe strikes killed 13 civilians and reiterated it does not allow militants to operate from its territory. The Taliban also warned there would be a strong response.
The government ofPakistan’s Punjab province said it was on high alert for militant attacks on Friday and had conducted a series of security operations, taking 90Afghannationals to holding centers for deportation.
A state-run media outlet fromAfghanistan’s Nangarhar, Bakhtar News Agency, shared an image of what it said was a battalion of suicide attackers, and quoted anAfghansecurity source as saying the bombers were equipped with explosive vests and carbombsand were prepared to strike majortargets.
Pakistani officials have said in recent days they feared an escalation of militant strikes in urban centers.
About The Author
