Taliban Prepares 'Suicide Squad' Hours After Pakistan Airstrikes Afghan Cities: Report

Last Updated:February 27, 2026, 14:09 IST

Pakistan launched airstrikes in Kabul and Afghan provinces after cross-border attacks, declaring "open war" with the Taliban.

Amid airstrikes and cross-border attacks, Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Kabul and two other Afghan provinces early on Friday, declaring an “open war" with the Taliban government.

This came hours after Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan in a dramatic escalation of violence between the two neighbours.

Citing sources, Pakistan’s state broadcaster said the strikes comprised air and ground attacks against Taliban posts, headquarters, and ammunition depots in several sectors along the border into Afghanistan.

KABUL READIES SUICIDE SQUAD

After Pakistani strikes, a state-run media outlet from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar, Bakhtar News Agency, shared an image of what it described as a battalion of suicide attackers, who were reportedly equipped with explosive vests and car bombs and were prepared to strike major targets.

The agency said Hamdullah Fitrat — the deputy spokesman for the Taliban government — announced intensive offensive and retaliatory operations were underway along the border with Pakistan.

‘OPEN WAR’ DECLARED 

Launching airstrikes into Afghan cities, Pakistan declared an “open war" with Afghanistan. “Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you (Afghanistan)," Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said in a post on ‘X’.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the Pak forces will “crush aggressive ambitions".

Both sides have reported massive losses in the latest border clashes. Pakistan claimed 133 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and more than 200 were injured, in the latest round of attacks, with 27 posts destroyed and nine captured.

The Taliban government, on the other hand, said 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 19 posts seized. Eight Afghan fighters were killed, 11 wounded, and 13 civilians injured in Nangarhar, it stated.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has been on high security alert since this weekend when it launched air strikes that it said were to target camps of Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), or Pakistani Taliban, and Islamic State militants in eastern Afghanistan.

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