ISLAMABAD: Pakistan struck logistics bases and camps of suspected militants in three Afghan cities overnight, the information minister said on Friday, adding that more than 650 Afghan Taliban fighters have been killed and 70 sites destroyed since the latest round of clashes began between the two countries last month.
Pakistan launched Operation “Ghazab Lil Haq” — or “Wrath for Truth” — on Feb. 26 after Afghanistan launched attacks against Pakistani border posts. Kabul said the assault was retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes targeting what Islamabad called militant camps inside Afghanistan.
Both forces have since engaged in the worst fighting between them in decades.
Islamabad has long accused the Taliban government of allowing militant groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to operate from Afghan soil, a charge Kabul denies.
“Summary of Fitna Al Khawarij/Afghan Taliban losses: 663 killed, 887+ injured, 249 check posts destroyed,” Information Minister Ataullah Tarar said in a post on X.
“It is pertinent to mention that on night of 12/13 March 2026, Pakistan successfully targeted terrorists’ affiliated installations in Afghanistan,” he continued. “In Kabul, Paktia and Kandahar, terrorists and their support infrastructure including logistics bases and camps were targeted.”
Tarar highlighted that Pakistani security forces destroyed 224 tanks, armored vehicles and artillery guns in the operation so far, along with destroying 70 “terrorists and terror support sites” across Afghanistan in airstrikes.
Earlier on Friday, Pakistan said it shot down drones launched by Afghanistan in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province following “precision strikes” conducted on Taliban hideouts.
A Pakistani security official confirmed that the strikes carried out last night destroyed “four key locations,” including a corps headquarters, an ammunition dump in Kabul, a militant training camp and an oil storage facility in Kandahar, and a militant camp in Paktia.
The Taliban government said the overnight strikes had hit non-military targets, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid saying on X that the bombardment struck Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia and Paktika provinces.
In Kabul, police spokesman Khalil Zadran told AFP that the strikes killed four people and wounded 15 others, adding that residential homes were among the buildings hit.
The Taliban further alleged that a strategic fuel depot in the southern city of Kandahar was destroyed.
In response, the Afghan Ministry of National Defense claimed that its Air Force targeted strategic Pakistani military centers in the Kohat area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday morning.
However, Pakistani security officials disputed the Taliban’s account of a successful strike, saying the attack involved “rudimentary drones” that were effectively intercepted.
Afghan and Pakistani forces have clashed repeatedly along the border in recent weeks, disrupting trade and forcing nearby residents to flee their homes. Casualty figures from both sides are difficult to verify independently.
