Heavy gunfire broke out early Sunday in central Kabul, with sustained shooting and multiple explosions reported near key Taliban security installations, local sources said.
Residents told Amu TV that clashes began around 5 a.m. in the Shash Darak area of the city’s Ninth Police District and continued until at least 6 a.m. Witnesses described intense exchanges of fire and said several loud explosions were heard from the vicinity.
The Shash Darak neighborhood houses a number of Taliban government and intelligence facilities, including Directorate 40 of the Taliban’s intelligence service and offices of the Urban Development Ministry.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s chief spokesman, said the fighting was the result of Taliban forces firing at Pakistani aircraft. He said their forces had opened defensive fire in response to what he described as Pakistani planes operating in the area.
It was not immediately possible to independently verify the presence of Pakistani aircraft over Kabul at the time of the clashes. Pakistani officials did not immediately comment.
The incident comes amid days of escalating cross-border violence between Pakistan and the Taliban. Since Thursday evening, Feb. 26, both sides have reported exchanges of fire in Khost, Paktia, Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, along with reciprocal airstrikes.
The Taliban have claimed Pakistani air and artillery strikes killed civilians in several provinces, including Kandahar and Kunar. Pakistan has claimed it targeted militant positions and has claimed killing hundreds of Taliban fighters. The Taliban, in turn, have claimed killing dozens of Pakistani soldiers.
Local sources also reported that Pakistani fighter jets had patrolled airspace over several eastern provinces overnight. Taliban intelligence officials have warned media outlets and residents against publishing images or details of locations targeted in Pakistani strikes.
It remains unclear whether the fighting in central Kabul marked a new phase of the confrontation or was limited to what Taliban officials described as defensive fire.
