Pakistan bombs targets in Afghan cities

Pakistan bombed Taliban government targets in Afghanistan's largest cities overnight, officials from both countries said, with Pakistan's defense minister calling the conflict "open war."

Security sources in Pakistan said the strikes included air-to-surface missile attacks on Taliban military offices and positions in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia, as well as ground clashes in multiple sectors along the border between the two Islamic countries.

The Taliban announced that they had carried out what they said were retaliatory attacks on Pakistani military installations.

Both sides reported heavy losses, giving vastly different figures that Reuters could not independently verify.

"Our cup of patience has run out. Now it is an open war between us and you (Afghanistan)," said Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif.

Relations between Kabul and Islamabad have been strained by a long-running dispute in which Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harboring militants who carry out attacks across the border. The Taliban has denied this, saying Pakistan's security is an internal matter for that country.

The attacks on Taliban government installations represent a major escalation and threaten a protracted conflict along the 2.600-kilometer border.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that Pakistani forces had carried out airstrikes in parts of Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia, but did not provide details.

Kandahar is the headquarters of the Taliban and the city where their supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada is located.

Video footage shared by Pakistani security officials shows flashes of light at night from cross-border fire and the sound of heavy artillery. Footage of the Kabul strike, the location of which was confirmed by Reuters, shows thick columns of black smoke rising from two locations and a large fire in part of the capital.

Another video shows a burning building, which officials said was a Taliban headquarters in Paktia province.

"Pakistani counter-strikes on targets in Afghanistan continue," Pakistani government spokesman Musharraf Zaidi said in a post on X Network, describing the action as a response to "unprovoked Afghan attacks."

Reuters witnesses in Kabul said that after the loud explosions and the sound of jet planes, many ambulance sirens were heard.

Zaidi said 133 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and more than 200 wounded, 27 positions were destroyed and nine were captured.

Mujahid, on the other hand, stated that 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 19 positions were seized, while eight Taliban fighters were killed, 11 wounded, and 13 civilians injured in Nangarhar province.

Reuters writes that Pakistan's military capabilities are significantly superior to Afghanistan's. However, the Taliban are skilled in guerrilla warfare, hardened after decades of fighting with US forces and their allies before returning to power in 2021.

Clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan in October claimed dozens of lives among soldiers, until negotiations brokered by Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia ended hostilities.

The foreign ministers of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia discussed reducing tensions on Friday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said, without providing details on whether Riyadh was involved in brokering the ceasefire.

Russia, the only country to formally recognize the Taliban government, called for a cessation of hostilities and said it would consider mediating in the negotiations if both sides requested it, state media reported, citing the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Pakistan has been on high security alert since it carried out airstrikes earlier this week that Islamabad claims targeted camps of Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), or the Pakistani Taliban, and Islamic State militants in eastern Afghanistan.

Kabul and the United Nations said 13 civilians were killed in the attacks and reiterated that they would not allow militants to operate from their territory. The Taliban also warned of a strong response.

The government of Pakistan's Punjab province said on Friday it was on high alert for possible militant attacks and had carried out a series of security operations, with 90 Afghan nationals being taken to detention centres for deportation.

The state-run news agency from Nangarhar, Afghanistan, Bakhtar News Agency, shared a photo of what it described as a battalion of suicide bombers, citing an Afghan security source as saying that the attackers were equipped with explosive vests and car bombs and were ready to strike major targets.

Pakistani officials have said in recent days that they fear an escalation of militant attacks in urban centers.