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Quoted By: >>1492360
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/pakistan-strikes-afghanistan-targets-clashes-intensify-2026-02-27/
KABUL/ISLAMABAD, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Pakistan bombed government targets in the Afghanistan capital Kabul and in Kandahar, where its Taliban leadership is based, officials from both countries said on Friday, with Pakistan's defence minister calling the conflict "open war".
The Pakistani air strikes are the first time Islamabad has directly targeted Taliban installations rather than militants allegedly backed by them, a stark rupture in ties between the Islamic neighbours, once close allies.
Security sources in Pakistan said the strikes involved air-to-ground missile attacks on Taliban military offices and posts in Kabul, Kandahar as well as Paktia province. There were ground clashes in multiple sectors along the border between the Islamic nations.
The Taliban said it launched what it described as retaliatory attacks on Pakistani 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 Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Friday.
The strikes threaten to unleash a protracted conflict along the 2,600-km (1,615-mile) frontier with relations between Kabul and Islamabad shattered by a long-running dispute over Pakistan's accusation that Afghanistan harbours militants carrying out attacks across the border.
The Taliban have denied the charge and said Pakistan's security is an internal problem.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed Pakistani 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.
KABUL/ISLAMABAD, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Pakistan bombed government targets in the Afghanistan capital Kabul and in Kandahar, where its Taliban leadership is based, officials from both countries said on Friday, with Pakistan's defence minister calling the conflict "open war".
The Pakistani air strikes are the first time Islamabad has directly targeted Taliban installations rather than militants allegedly backed by them, a stark rupture in ties between the Islamic neighbours, once close allies.
Security sources in Pakistan said the strikes involved air-to-ground missile attacks on Taliban military offices and posts in Kabul, Kandahar as well as Paktia province. There were ground clashes in multiple sectors along the border between the Islamic nations.
The Taliban said it launched what it described as retaliatory attacks on Pakistani 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 Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Friday.
The strikes threaten to unleash a protracted conflict along the 2,600-km (1,615-mile) frontier with relations between Kabul and Islamabad shattered by a long-running dispute over Pakistan's accusation that Afghanistan harbours militants carrying out attacks across the border.
The Taliban have denied the charge and said Pakistan's security is an internal problem.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed Pakistani 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.
