Explosions and gunfire echoed across Kabul on Sunday as Afghan Taliban forces reportedly engaged Pakistani aircraft near the city, officials and witnesses said. The incidents came on the fourth day of clashes between the two neighbors, the heaviest cross-border fighting in years and raising fears the confrontation could be prolonged.
Residents heard blasts in parts of Kabul before sunrise, followed by bursts of gunfire, according to Reuters; it was not immediately clear whether the explosions caused casualties. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told residents they “should not be concerned” and said air-defense strikes had been carried out in Kabul against Pakistani planes.
Pakistan has acknowledged carrying out air strikes on Afghan cities on Friday, including Kabul and Kandahar, where the Taliban’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is believed to be based. AFP witnesses also reported strikes near the Bagram air base area in the country’s east, a former US stronghold. Taliban officials increased security in central Kabul on Sunday evening, instituting more vehicle checks, AFP said.
The fighting began after the Taliban launched an offensive along the roughly 2,600-kilometer border, accusing Pakistan of striking civilians inside Afghanistan. Pakistan rejected that claim, saying its operations targeted militants and accusing the Taliban-led government of harboring extremists who have attacked Pakistan—an allegation the Taliban have denied. Diplomatic mediation led by Saudi Arabia and Qatar has so far failed to secure a ceasefire.
Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, canceled a planned visit to Russia as fighting continued; Moscow urged both sides to halt cross-border attacks and pursue diplomacy. Pakistani information minister Attaullah Tarar said Pakistani forces had killed about 415 Taliban fighters while losing 12 soldiers. Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat offered a different tally, saying more than 80 Pakistani soldiers had been killed and 27 military posts captured.
The violence marks a significant escalation in longstanding tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with international actors calling for restraint even as both sides exchange competing casualty and territorial claims.