Pakistani Airstrikes Target Kabul: Rising Tensions in Afghanistan
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Kabul, March 1 (NationPress) The capital city of Afghanistan, Kabul, experienced a severe attack from Pakistani air forces at approximately 5:40 a.m. local time on Sunday, resulting in a cascade of explosions and a defensive response from Afghan air defense units targeting the aerial threats.
This series of airstrikes persisted for around 20 minutes.
Recently, military confrontations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have intensified, with multiple exchanges of gunfire reported, according to Xinhua news agency.
Earlier, Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesman for the Afghan government, stated that three Afghan returnees were killed and seven more injured when Pakistani forces targeted a temporary camp for returnees located in southern Kandahar province on Saturday.
Pakistani military forces initiated the airstrikes and bombarded the returnees' camp in Kandahar at 08:30 a.m. local time, as detailed in a statement shared on social media by Fitrat.
In another related incident, an Afghan official reported that a drone, allegedly deployed by Pakistan for an attack, crashed in the eastern province of Khost on Saturday.
Fitrat added that at least 52 individuals have perished and 66 others sustained injuries due to Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan since the previous Sunday.
The casualties were confirmed across eastern provinces including Nangarhar, Paktika, Khost, and Kunar, as well as southern Kandahar.
Additionally, Afghan forces successfully shot down a Pakistani fighter jet in eastern Nangarhar province on Saturday, with its pilot taken into custody, as reported by provincial police chief Mohibullah Hamas.
The jet was shot down in the morning and crashed in Jalalabad, the provincial capital.
The pilot, who ejected via parachute, was apprehended shortly thereafter, as confirmed by officials.
Meanwhile, Sayed Tayeb Hemad, spokesman for the Nangarhar provincial police, verified that the captured pilot is currently in police custody.