Blasts, gunfire heard in Kabul as Afghanistan says shooting Pakistani aircraft
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Blasts, gunfire heard in Kabul as Afghanistan says shooting Pakistani aircraft")
A general view shows a residential neighbourhood in Kabul on February 27, 2026 following overnight cross-border fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Photograph: (AFP)
The blast was followed by multiple rounds of gunfire as the Afghan Taliban government said their forces were shooting at Pakistani aircraft.
Amid military escalation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, an explosion was heard in central Kabul before dawn on Sunday (Mar 1), according to media reports. The blast was followed by multiple rounds of gunfire as the Afghan Taliban government said their forces were shooting at Pakistani aircraft.
“Anti-aircraft fire is being directed at Pakistani aircraft in Kabul; residents should not be alarmed,” Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid posted on X.
Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan on Friday (Feb 27) reached a boiling point with Islamabad carrying out airstrikes in parts of Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia. In response, Afghanistan launched retaliatory strikes on Islamabad.
Pakistan has already declared “open war” against Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities. On Friday (Feb 27) Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Asif, in a post on X, said that Islamabad's “patience has reached its limit.”
Earlier on Saturday (Feb 28), Afghanistan captured a Pakistani pilot after a jet crashed in Jalalabad city. Reports suggest that the pilot managed to escape the plane crash using a parachute but was captured alive by the Afghanistani military and police.
However, Islamabad's foreign ministry on Saturday said Afghanistan's military's claims of downing a Pakistani jet and capturing a pilot were “totally untrue”. Talking to AFP, the Pakistan foreign ministry spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi said, “That's a false claim. Totally untrue”.
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Afghan authorities accused Pakistan of killing civilians in multiple air raids, claims Islamabad has not directly addressed. Afghan officials say Pakistani shelling and air strikes have killed at least 30 civilians across the eastern provinces of Khost, Kunar and Paktika since Thursday.
Both sides have traded heavy casualty figures that remain independently unverified. Pakistan says nearly 300 Afghan soldiers and militants have been killed, while Afghanistan claims more than 80 Pakistani troops died and 27 military posts were captured.
The conflict marks a sharp escalation, with analysts noting that Pakistan’s recent strikes have targeted Afghan government facilities — a shift from previous operations aimed at militant hideouts. Diplomatic efforts by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and China have so far failed to secure a ceasefire, as Islamabad declared “open war” and Kabul called for dialogue to prevent further bloodshed.
