Afghanistan reacted strongly on Friday to attacks by Pakistan that hit the country’s two largest cities, the capital Kabul and Kandahar, killing four people. The escalation comes amid renewed tensions between the two Islamist neighbors, with Islamabad describing the tensions as “open war” weeks ago.Authorities in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan have reportedly responded by targeting strategic military centers and facilities in their nuclear-armed neighbor.The Afghan Defense Ministry’s X account claimed that Pakistan’s “nighttime” violations along the Durand Line, the disputed border between the two countries, were met with a befitting response by Afghan forces.“In response to the Pakistani military regime’s nighttime violations of the Durand Line, the Afghan Air Force this morning conducted attacks on strategic military centers and Pakistani army installations in the Kohat area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province,” the account wrote.The statement further claimed, “During the attack, the Kohat military fortress was destroyed, and the Durand Line conflict command center and the military fortress commander’s office within a two-kilometer radius of the same fortress were also targeted accurately.”Pakistan has previously launched air strikes in Afghanistan, hitting Kabul and Kandahar. Attacks from Islamabad also hit homes in the Afghan capital and destroyed a fuel depot at Kandahar airport.
