Pakistan strikes Afghanistan's Kabul; bombs fuel depot of private airline near Kandahar airport

Pakistan once again struck neighbouring Afghanistan’s key cities, Kabul and Kandahar early on Friday, killing four people in capital city, according to city police.Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran confirmed the Pakistani bombardment, saying the strikes from Islamabad hit homes in the city. Writing on X, he said the attack left “four people dead and 15 others injured.” Taliban official also said that women and children were killed in Pakistani strikes.However, the strikes from Islamabad also hit Afghanistan’s second-largest city, Kandahar, including its airport, according to a Taliban spokesperson.Pakistan bombed a fuel depot belonging to the private airline Kam Air near Kandahar airport, the Taliban spokesperson said on Friday, as tensions between the South Asian neighbours escalated into their worst conflict in years.Pakistan’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The latest strike comes amid renewed escalation between the two Islamic neighbours, who have long been in dispute over territorial issues. Islamabad has justified its attacks by alleging Kabul’s role in multiple terror incidents inside Pakistan.Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have escalated mainly because Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban government of sheltering the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban. Though separate from the Afghan Taliban, the TTP shares ideological links with the group and has stepped up attacks launched from Afghan territory into Pakistan.The United Nations mission in Afghanistan, United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, has said that 56 civilians, including 24 children, were killed by Pakistani military operations in Afghanistan between February 26 and March 5.About 115,000 people were forced to flee their homes, according to the UN refugee agency, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.Dozens of people were killed in fighting between the two countries in October last year, which led to the near-total closure of the border.Clashes had subsided after mediation, but the conflict intensified on February 26, when Taliban-run Afghanistan launched an offensive along the frontier in retaliation for earlier Pakistani air strikes targeting the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.Pakistan then declared "open war" against the Taliban authorities, bombing the capital, Kabul, on February 27.Since then, clashes have increased in border regions. Afghan authorities said overnight fighting from Wednesday to Thursday killed four members of the same family in Khost province.The Taliban government said on Thursday that four members of the same family, including two children, were killed by Pakistani artillery and mortar fire in eastern Afghanistan.The International Organization for Migration reported major damage to its transit centre at the Torkham border crossing used for Afghans deported en masse from Pakistan.Seven people had been killed in Afghanistan since Tuesday due to cross-border clashes between the two sides, according to authorities in Kabul.Deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said the latest deaths occurred early Thursday in the village of Sadqo in Khost province, accusing Pakistan of deliberately targeting civilian homes and nomads' tents.