Taliban strike multiple military bases in Pakistan; strategic Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi hit

The Afghan Air Force’s drone aircraft carried out strikes on key Pakistani military installations, including the Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi, the 12th Corps headquarters in Quetta, the Khowizoo Camp in Mohmand Agency of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the Ghulni military bases, all considered important defence facilities and operational centres.In a social media post on X, Afghanistan’s defence ministry said that the operations were carried out in response to the recent aerial incursions by the Pakistani military.“Today, the Air Force of the Ministry of National Defense conducted precise and coordinated aerial operations against key military installations in Pakistan targeting the Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi, the 12th Division headquarters in Quetta (Balochistan), the Khwazai Camp in the Mohmand Agency of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as several other significant Pakistani military facilities and command centers,” the ministry said.“Based on preliminary assessments, the strikes successfully caused significant damage to the intended targets. These operations were carried out in response to the recent aerial incursions by the Pakistani military, which struck Kabul, Bagram, and several other regions last night and earlier today. It should be emphasized that any further violations of our airspace or acts of aggression by hostile Pakistani elements will be met with a swift, decisive, and proportionate response, Inshallah,” it added.Afghanistan also shared a video of a kamikaze drone and images of Pakistani air base.Tit-for-tat between neighboursThis comes after Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan, including capital Kabul, with Islamabad’s defence minister declaring the neighbours at “open war” following months of tit-for-tat clashes.Pakistan claimed to have killed more than 270 Taliban fighters and injured over 400 others in airstrikes while Afghanistan’s Taliban govt spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said its forces killed 55 Pakistani soldiers and targeted what he described as “important military objectives” inside Pakistan.Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan made every effort to keep the situation normal through direct means and through friendly countries, and it also engaged in full-fledged diplomacy, but the “Taliban became a proxy for India”.The Afghan Taliban attacked several check posts along the border late Thursday, apparently to avenge the air strikes carried out by Pakistan in Afghanistan’s border areas. Pakistan responded by hitting targets in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia under ‘Operation Ghazab lil Haq’ early Friday. The 2,611kmlong border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is known as the Durand Line, which Kabul has not formally recognised.In recent days, tit-for-tat military actions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have escalated, with several rounds of exchange of fire. Earlier, Afghan forces also claimed to have shot down a Pakistani fighter jet over Jalalabad and captured its pilot alive.“A Pakistani fighter jet was shot down in the sixth district of Jalalabad city, and its pilot was captured alive,” police spokesman told news agency AFP.Wahidullah Mohammadi, spokesman for the military in eastern Afghanistan, confirmed the Pakistani jet was downed by Afghan forces “and the pilot was captured alive”.Meanwhile, Pakistan said Afghanistan’s jet crash claim was “totally untrue”.