Blasts heard in Kabul amid clashes between Afghan, Pakistani forces


Taliban soldiers stand on top of a their post as they guard near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, in Khost province, Afghanistan, February 27, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

KABUL, March 1 (Reuters) - ⁠Blasts and gunfire were heard in Kabul on ⁠Sunday, a Reuters journalist in the Afghan ‌capital said, as fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan entered a fourth day.

Explosions echoed across parts of the city before sunrise, followed ​by bursts of gunfire, the ⁠journalist said.

It was not ⁠immediately clear what had been targeted or whether there ⁠were ‌casualties.

Taliban administration spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the sounds were the result of Afghan forces ⁠targeting Pakistani aircraft over the capital.

"Air defence ​attacks were ‌carried out in Kabul against Pakistani aircraft. Kabul ⁠residents should ​not be concerned," Mujahid said.

Pakistan's prime minister's office, information ministry and military did not respond to requests for ⁠comment.

The violence follows air strikes inside ​Afghanistan this week that Pakistan said targeted militant infrastructure. Afghanistan described the strikes as a violation of sovereignty ⁠and announced retaliatory operations along their shared border.

Both sides have reported heavy losses, issuing differing casualty figures that Reuters has not been able to independently ​verify.

The engagement is among the ⁠neighbours' most violent in years and raises fear of ​a broader conflict along their ‌2,600 km (1,615 mile) frontier.

(Reporting by ​Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul and Rajveer Singh Pardesi in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

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