Islamabad launched airstrikes on Afghan facilities hours after the Taliban carried out its own “retaliatory” attack.
Multiple explosions shook the Afghan capital, Kabul, and several other regions early Friday morning as Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged military strikes across their volatile border, accusing each other of escalating the conflict.
Islamabad launched Operation Ghazab Lil Haq (“Wrath of Justice”) hours after Afghan forces conducted cross-border attacks against Pakistani military positions. Residents of the Afghan capital reported hearing at least three blasts, but authorities have not confirmed the precise locations of the explosions.
“The cowardly Pakistani military has carried out airstrikes in certain areas of Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia; fortunately, there have been no reported casualties,” Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on X.
🚨Operation Ghazab Lil Haq / Update#Kabul, #Afghanistan 3 AM, 27th February 2026#آپریشن_غضب_للحق #OperationGhazabLilHaqq pic.twitter.com/TZmxccaJLn
— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) February 26, 2026
Pakistani state broadcaster PTV News shared several videos of the strikes, saying the military targeted “important military installations.”
🚨Operation Ghazab Lil Haq / Update#Kabul, #Afghanistan 3 AM, 27th February 2026#آپریشن_غضب_للحق#OperationGhazabLilHaqq pic.twitter.com/Mx82Ipheas
— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) February 26, 2026
A Pakistani security source told local media that an ammunition depot, battalion positions, and a sector headquarters were destroyed.
Very Big Hit ⚠️⚠️⚠️
PAF have very precisely hit the Taliban military base formally known as Camp Phoenix now used as Depot where they have stored all US military leftover including arms and ammunition, artillery, transport vehicles, and backbone for Kabul,
this is very major… pic.twitter.com/azwDbEY72c
— Ciphar 1337 (@Callsign_Ciphar) February 26, 2026
Islamabad said the strikes came after Afghan Taliban forces opened fire on its border positions late Thursday, killing two Pakistani soldiers and wounding three others.
Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesperson for Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, said the forces of the Islamic Republic killed dozens of Afghan fighters and destroyed several military posts and armored vehicles in “retaliatory” operations.
Afghan authorities, however, said their military offensive on Thursday was itself a response to earlier Pakistani air raids conducted last week.
Afghanistan’s military claimed it captured more than a dozen Pakistani army posts and inflicted heavy casualties in “large-scale offensive operations” across several border provinces.
Pakistani officials described the Afghan attack as unprovoked and denied losing any positions, accusing the neighbor of targeting civilians.
“The cowardly enemy struck in the darkness of night. The Afghan Taliban made a despicable attempt to target innocent civilians,” Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on X, promising “serious consequences.”
Video: Afghan forces capture and set fire to a post of Pakistan’s military regime across the Durand Line in Khost.#TOLOnews_English pic.twitter.com/8zFRTJfJJ8
— TOLOnews English (@TOLONewsEnglish) February 26, 2026
Heavy exchanges of fire were reported across multiple frontier sectors overnight, including near the Torkham crossing, prompting evacuations of civilians and refugee camps on both sides of the border.
خوست کې هم د پاکستاني رژیم څلور پوستې نیول شوې دي
د خوست په علیشرو او ځاځي میدان ولسوالیو کې هم د پاکستاني رژیم څلور پوستې نیول شوي
د خوست ولایت ویاند، مستغفر ګربز ویلي، په علیشیرو او ځاځي میدان ولسوالیو کې د روانو عملیاتو کې د افغان ځواکونو له لوري تر دې دمه څلور پوستې نیول… pic.twitter.com/ooHShfz9Gs
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) February 26, 2026
Relations between Kabul and Islamabad have deteriorated sharply amid mutual accusations over militant activity. Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of harboring Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters, a charge denied by the Taliban.
The new spiral of violence poses a major challenge to the ceasefire agreed upon between Kabul and Islamabad in October 2025 after several days of border clashes that left dozens of soldiers and civilians dead. While the truce has largely held, follow-up talks have failed to produce a formal agreement, leaving relations strained.
