Taliban claimed military sites

Kabul (dpa) — Afghanistan’s Taliban Defence Ministry said on Saturday it carried out overnight airstrikes on two Pakistani military bases in response to what it described as repeated aerial aggression by the Pakistani military.

Bases in Miranshah and Spinwam were targeted, the ministry said in a statement.

An army spokesman also claimed that a Pakistani fighter jet had been shot down in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar and that the pilot was captured alive. Pakistan has denied the claim.

Fighting between the two neighbours flared up again earlier this week after Pakistan, which accuses the Islamist Taliban of sheltering militants responsible for cross-border attacks, struck targets in Afghanistan last weekend.

On Thursday, Afghanistan launched a counteroffensive, leading Pakistani forces to carry out airstrikes on targets inside Afghanistan.

Taliban claimed military sites

Earlier on Saturday, Pakistan said it had killed 331 Afghan Taliban forces and damaged infrastructure and arms stockpiles during the latest clashes, which marked some of the deadliest skirmishes between the neighbouring countries.

Kabul again rejected Pakistani claims that it supports the Pakistani Taliban, known as TTP.

The Foreign Ministry said it was participating in diplomatic efforts to ease the tensions between the two neighbouring countries, mediated by Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistan had repeatedly violated Afghanistan’s airspace and bombarded civilian areas, killing innocent people, including children.

The United Nations confirmed that at least 13 civilians were killed in Pakistani attacks in eastern Afghanistan last weekend. Earlier this month, the United Nations said in a report that at least 70 Afghan civilians were killed and 478 injured in the final three months of 2025 in attacks attributed to Pakistani forces.