Pakistan airstrikes in Kabul and other areas of Afghanistan

Xinhua News Agency, Kabul/Islamabad, February 27 (Reporter Zhang Yibin, Yang Kai) - Afghan government spokesman Mujahid confirmed early on the 27th on social media that parts of Kabul, Kandahar Province, and Paktia Province were subjected to airstrikes by the Pakistani military, with no reports of casualties so far.

At around 2:10 a.m. that day, a loud explosion was heard in downtown Kabul, suspected to be the sound of an aircraft flying overhead, followed by intense gunfire.

Military sources from Pakistan told Xinhua reporters that the Pakistani side conducted airstrikes on important military facilities of the Afghan side in Kabul, Kandahar Province, and Paktia Province early that morning. The airstrike operation aimed to respond to the Afghan side's attack on Pakistani border outposts on the evening of the 26th, destroying multiple command posts, ammunition depots, and logistics bases of the Afghan side.

The source stated that after Kabul was hit by airstrikes, the Afghan side requested a ceasefire, but the Pakistani side decided to continue the airstrikes until all objectives were fully achieved.

The airstrikes on Kabul occurred just hours after clashes erupted along the border between the two countries. Mujahid posted on social media on the evening of the 26th, stating that in response to the "provocation" by the Pakistani military, the Afghan side targeted military facilities in the border areas of Pakistan. The Afghan Ministry of Defense later issued a statement claiming to have seized 15 Pakistani military outposts and killed 55 Pakistani soldiers.

A spokesman for Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz issued a statement saying that Pakistani security forces effectively retaliated, killing 72 Afghan armed personnel, injuring 120, destroying 16 Afghan outposts, and occupying 7 Afghan outposts.

Pakistani President Zardari stated on social media that Pakistan will not make any compromises on issues of peace and territorial integrity. The response of the Pakistani security forces is comprehensive and decisive. Those who misinterpret Pakistan's willingness to maintain peace as weakness will face a strong counterattack.

In recent days, intermittent clashes have occurred between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the border area between eastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. The conflict was triggered by airstrikes conducted by Pakistan from the night of the 21st to the early morning of the 22nd on multiple camps identified as terrorist sites by Pakistan in the border area. Pakistan claims that the airstrikes killed more than 80 terrorists, while Afghanistan claims that the airstrikes resulted in the deaths of 18 people, including women and children.