Nur Khan airbase hit: Afghanistan launches ‘precise’ airstrikes on major Pakistani military bases
Kabul: The Afghan Ministry of Defence announced Monday that its air force conducted a series of "precise and coordinated" strikes against major military installations inside Pakistan, marking a dramatic escalation in what Pakistani officials are now calling an "open war."
The Taliban-led ministry claimed responsibility for the aerial operations, which reportedly targeted the Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi, the 12th Division headquarters in Quetta, and the Khwazai Camp in the Mohmand Agency. The strikes were described as a direct retaliation for Pakistani aerial incursions into Kabul and Bagram earlier that morning.
"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 Afghan Ministry of Defense stated in a post on X.
Kabul officials asserted that their operations successfully inflicted "significant damage" on Pakistani command centres.
Islamabad had earlier launched "Operation Righteous Fury" (Ghazab Lil Haq), claiming to have neutralised hundreds of Taliban fighters and struck dozens of military sites in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia.
The Afghan government characterised the Pakistani strikes on Kabul and the former U.S. base at Bagram as a "blatant violation" of its sovereignty. According to the Ministry of Defence, Afghan forces utilised anti-aircraft and missile defence systems to "thwart" the attempted bombardment of Bagram.
"Based on preliminary assessments, the strikes successfully caused significant damage to the intended targets," the Afghan statement continued. "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."