Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq against the ruling Afghan Taliban following what authorities described as unprovoked firing from across the border late on November 26, escalating tensions along the frontier with Afghanistan.

The information ministry in the Pakistani capital said Afghan Taliban forces had initially opened fire on multiple locations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, including the Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram and Bajaur sectors. At least two Pakistani security personnel were killed in the ensuing clashes local reports have said, while another 133 Afghan Taliban operatives were reported dead, according to official statements cited by Dawn. No verification on the figures has yet been provided.

Meanwhile, state media in Islamabad has said that the Pakistan Air Force had destroyed an ammunition depot in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. It later also reported further air strikes targeting Afghan Taliban military installations in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia. According to the Pakistani broadcaster, two further brigade headquarters were also destroyed in the Afghan capital Kabul, while in Kandahar one corps headquarters and one brigade headquarters were hit and presumed damabed, alongside an ammunition depot and logistics base. A corps headquarters in Paktia was also reported as having been destroyed.

Afghanistan has acknowledged that strikes had taken place in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia but little in the way of an official response has been seen so far. Pakistani officials said additional counter-attacks were currently under way, with senior ministers warning that there would be no compromise on territorial integrity of the country or national defence.

The latest escalation follows Pakistani air strikes on terrorist elements in Afghanistan last weekend – strikes Kabul claimed killed primarily civilians at the time.