Kabul was rocked by two powerful explosions followed by automatic gunfire. According to reports, Pakistani aircraft carried out air strikes on Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) camps in Kabul, escalating tensions between the two countries. The attack took place during the first visit of Taliban Foreign Minister Aamir Khan Muttaki to India. The visit seems to have shocked Pakistan as New Delhi continues to expand its reach in Afghanistan.
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Several witnesses reported hearing a fighter plane over the city’s airfield. Top intelligence sources say the incident was a targeted air strike on Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Noor Wali Mehsud, who was operating from a TTP and al-Qaeda safe haven in eastern Kabul. The development comes amid a dramatic deterioration in the Taliban’s ties with Pakistan, which has long accused Afghanistan of funding and arming the Pakistani Taliban or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Pakistan air strikes in Kabul
According to local reports, the airstrike near Shaheed Abdul Haq Chowk was aimed at eliminating TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud, who took command of the organization in 2018. Sources have confirmed that the compound was successfully targeted in the attack, but CNN-News18 has received a voice message from Noor Wali Mehsud in which he has confirmed that he is safe and in Pakistan, although his son was killed in the attack. The fact that the target was a high-level Pakistani terrorist indicates a covert, cross-border operation. The timing—within 48 hours of Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Asif publicly accusing Afghanistan of harboring terrorists—points to a retaliatory strike, either by Pakistan directly or by a third party with significant intelligence from Islamabad and possible ground-level assistance.
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Mehsud, who considered Pakistan’s alliance with the US after the 9/11 attacks a betrayal, has been a constant headache for Islamabad. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has carried out several attacks targeting Pakistani military personnel in recent years, the most recent of which occurred on 8 October. Eleven Pakistani soldiers, including two senior officers, were killed in a deadly attack by the TTP near the Afghan border on Wednesday.