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Pakistan\u00a0bombed Taliban government forces in Afghanistan\u2019s major cities overnight, the first time it has directly targeted its former allies, and described the situation as \u201copen war,\u201d raising tensions in a volatile, nuclear-armed region.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Pakistani strikes\u00a0hit the capital, Kabul, and the city of Kandahar, where Taliban leaders are based. It was\u00a0the first time Islamabad has\u00a0attacked the Taliban\u00a0rather than militants allegedly backed by them, a stark rupture in ties between the Islamic\u00a0neighbors.<\/p>\n
Security sources in\u00a0Pakistan\u00a0said the strikes involved air-to-ground missile attacks on Taliban military offices and posts in Kabul, Kandahar as well as Paktia province.\u00a0<\/p>\nSmoke rises following what Pakistani and Taliban officials say are Pakistani strikes, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on February 27, 2026. via REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAn injured Pakistani girl receives treatment at a hospital in Bajaur in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on February 27, 2026. AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThere were ground clashes in multiple sectors along the border between the Islamic nations.<\/p>\n\n<\/aside>\nThe Taliban said they launched what they described as retaliatory attacks on Pakistani military installations.<\/p>\n
Both sides reported heavy losses, issuing sharply differing figures that Reuters could not independently verify.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you (Afghanistan),\u201d Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Friday.<\/p>\n
The strikes threaten to unleash a protracted conflict along the 1,615-mile frontier with relations between Kabul and Islamabad shattered by a long-running dispute over\u00a0Pakistan\u2019s accusation that Afghanistan harbors militants carrying out attacks across the border.<\/p>\n
The Taliban have denied the charge and said\u00a0Pakistan\u2019s security is an internal problem.<\/p>\nTaliban security personnel stand guard near the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Nangarhar province on February 27, 2026. AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nPakistan\u00a0is nuclear-armed and its\u00a0military capabilities\u00a0are vastly superior to Afghanistan. <\/p>\n
However, the Taliban are adept at guerrilla warfare, hardened by decades of fighting with US-led forces, before returning to power in 2021.<\/p>\n
Russia, China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia were trying to mediate, diplomats and news reports said.<\/p>\n
Iran, which borders both Afghanistan and\u00a0Pakistan, has also offered to help, according to its foreign ministry. The offer came as Tehran holds\u00a0crucial talks\u00a0with Washington on resolving their longstanding nuclear dispute and averting new US strikes.<\/p>\n
Drone strikes<\/h2>\nTaliban soldiers load a rocket launcher in a vehicle, following exchanges of fire between Pakistan and Afghanistan forces. REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nTaliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid\u00a0confirmed\u00a0Pakistani forces carried out airstrikes in parts of Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia but did not give details.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the Taliban defense ministry said it \u201csuccessfully conducted\u201d airstrikes using drones to hit military targets in\u00a0Pakistan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pakistan\u2019s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes were carried out by\u00a0Pakistani Taliban militants and all the drones brought down by anti-drone systems with \u201cno damage to life.\u201d<\/p>\nResidential buildings in the city of Kabul on February 27, 2026. AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nVideos shared by\u00a0Pakistani security officials showed flashes of light in the night from firing along the border and the sound of heavy artillery. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\nA Pakistani tank stands at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Chaman on February 27, 2026. AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nKabul taxi driver Tamim said he was asleep when he heard the sound of an aircraft, which was followed by strikes on what appeared to be a weapons depot.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe woke up, and the plane came and dropped two bombs, then flew away again. After that, we heard explosions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone, in panic, ran down from the second floor of the house. The ammunition inside the depot kept exploding on its own.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reuters witnesses in Kabul said many ambulance sirens could be heard following loud blasts and the sound of jets.<\/p>\nPakistani officials claim 133 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and more than 200 wounded, with 27 posts destroyed and nine captured. AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nMosharraf Zaidi, a\u00a0Pakistani government spokesperson, said in a post on X that the action was a response to \u201cunprovoked Afghan attacks,\u201d\u00a0adding that 133 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and more than 200 wounded, with 27 posts destroyed and nine captured.<\/p>\n
Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, said 55\u00a0Pakistani soldiers were killed and 19 posts seized, while eight Taliban fighters were killed, 11 wounded and 13 civilians injured in Nangarhar province.<\/p>\n
High security<\/h2>\n Clashes\u00a0between\u00a0Pakistan\u00a0and Afghanistan in October killed dozens of soldiers until negotiations facilitated by Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia brought an end to the hostilities.<\/p>\n
Pakistan\u00a0has been on high security alert since it launched airstrikes earlier this week that Islamabad said targeted camps of Tehreek-e-Taliban, or\u00a0Pakistani Taliban, and Islamic State militants in eastern Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Kabul and the United Nations said the strikes killed 13 civilians and reiterated it does not allow militants to operate from its territory. <\/p>\nTaliban soldiers carry a rocket launcher in a vehicle, following exchanges of fire between Pakistan and Afghanistan forces, near the Torkham border in Afghanistan. REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe Taliban also warned there would be a strong response.<\/p>\n
The government of\u00a0Pakistan\u2019s Punjab province said it was on high alert for militant attacks on Friday and had conducted a series of security operations, taking 90 Afghan nationals to holding centers for deportation.<\/p>\n
A state-run media outlet from Afghanistan\u2019s Nangarhar, Bakhtar News Agency, shared an image of what it said was a battalion of suicide attackers, and quoted an Afghan security source as saying the bombers were equipped with explosive vests and car bombs and were prepared to strike major targets.<\/p>\n
Pakistani officials have said in recent days they feared an escalation of militant strikes in urban centers.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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