KABUL, Afghanistan (Diya TV) — Pakistan bombed a fuel depot near Kandahar airport that supplies fuel to a private airline and United Nations aircraft, Afghanistan’s Taliban government said Friday, marking a sharp escalation in tensions between the neighboring countries.
Taliban officials said the overnight airstrikes also hit residential areas in Kabul, killing at least four civilians and injuring more than a dozen people. The latest violence threatens to deepen the conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan despite recent diplomatic efforts by China to calm the situation. The strikes come amid growing hostility between the two neighbors, who share a long and volatile border. Both sides have accused each other of fueling militant activity.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani forces targeted the fuel depot of private airline Kam Air near Kandahar airport. He said the facility supplies fuel to civilian aircraft, including flights operated by the United Nations. Mujahid warned that the attack could disrupt civilian aviation operations in southern Afghanistan.
“The aggression will not go unanswered,” Mujahid said in a statement.
The depot serves Kam Air, one of Afghanistan’s largest private airlines, and provides fuel for some international humanitarian flights. Damage to the facility could affect aid operations and civilian travel.
Taliban officials and the United Nations said some of the strikes hit residential areas in Kabul. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported that at least four civilians died and 14 others suffered injuries in the Pul-e-Charkhi area of the capital. The casualties included women and children. Local officials said emergency teams rushed the wounded to nearby hospitals.
Later on Friday, another attack struck a house in the Momandara district of eastern Nangarhar province. Afghan authorities said a mortar shell fired from Pakistan hit the home, killing a woman and a child. The deaths raised fresh concerns about civilian safety as the conflict intensifies.
Pakistan’s government defended the strikes and said the military targeted militant camps inside Afghanistan. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on the social media platform X that the strikes formed part of an operation called “Ghazb lil Haq.”
He said Pakistani forces attacked what he described as militant camps and “terrorist support infrastructure” in Kabul, Paktia, and Kandahar. Tarar said the operation targeted dozens of sites across Afghanistan. He denied that Pakistani forces struck civilian areas or infrastructure.
“Pakistan has not targeted any civilian population or infrastructure,” Tarar said.
Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan of providing a haven to militants who launch attacks inside Pakistan. Afghan Taliban leaders strongly deny those allegations.
The latest strikes mark one of the most serious escalations between the two countries in recent years. The conflict began last month after Pakistan launched airstrikes inside Afghanistan. Pakistani officials said the attacks targeted militant strongholds.
The Taliban government condemned the strikes and called them a violation of Afghan sovereignty. Afghan forces then launched retaliatory attacks along the border. The two countries share a rugged 2,600-kilometer (1,600-mile) border that has long served as a flashpoint for militant activity and military clashes.
Militancy remains a major source of tension between Islamabad and Kabul. Pakistan claims that Afghan territory shelters groups that carry out cross-border attacks. Taliban officials reject the claim and say Pakistan must address its own internal security problems.
China has recently tried to ease tensions between the two sides. Officials in Beijing sent diplomatic messages urging both governments to stop the fighting. Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly encouraged restraint and dialogue.
Following those efforts, no Pakistani airstrikes had been reported during the past week. Border clashes had also decreased, though sporadic fighting continued. The new strikes threaten to derail those mediation attempts.
Afghanistan’s defense ministry said it responded to the latest airstrikes with a drone attack on a Pakistani military base in Kohat, a city in northern Pakistan. Taliban officials said the drone strike caused heavy damage to the base. Pakistani authorities confirmed that debris from a drone injured two people in Kohat. Shafi Jan, a local government information adviser, said the injuries were minor.
The exchange of strikes highlights the growing risk of wider conflict between the two neighbors. Regional analysts warn that continued military actions could destabilize the region and complicate international efforts to maintain stability in Afghanistan.
