Afghans fear further escalation after Pakistani air strikes shake Kabul

By Mohammad Yunus Yawar

KABUL, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Pakistani air strikes hit a weapons depot on the western outskirts of Kabul overnight, triggering hours of secondary explosions that rattled homes across the Afghan capital and left residents fearing further violence.

The strikes were part of a sharp escalation between Pakistan and Afghanistan's Taliban authorities, with the once-close allies also trading cross-border attacks and Pakistan describing the situation as open conflict.

Video verified by Reuters showed thick plumes of black smoke rising above Darulaman, a residential neighbourhood in western Kabul that also houses several government and military compounds, as a blaze engulfed part of the depot and repeated flashes lit up the night sky when ammunition ignited inside.

Residents said the bombardment began shortly after midnight.

"We were asleep when we heard the sound of a plane," said Tamim, a taxi driver who lives near the depot. "It came and dropped two bombs, then flew away again. After that, we heard explosions."

He said the initial blasts were followed by continuous detonations as stored munitions caught fire.

"The ammunition inside the depot kept exploding on its own," he said. "Everyone, in panic, ran down from the second floor of the house."

Tamim said the fire burned until about 6 a.m., when it was brought under control. His family escaped injury, but doors and windows were damaged and glass shattered from the force of the blasts.

"The blaze was very intense. We were extremely scared and even planned to leave the area," he said.

'JUST ORDINARY PEOPLE'

Danish, a 35-year-old pharmacist who lives about 10 minutes from the depot, said he had been awake following news of rising tensions.

"I couldn't sleep again until morning."

Reuters witnesses elsewhere in Kabul reported hearing loud blasts and the sound of aircraft, followed by ambulance sirens cutting through the night.

Mohammad Ali, 31, who sells mobile electrical accessories, said he was at a guesthouse when a blast around 2 a.m. jolted them awake.

"At first we thought it was an earthquake," he said, but soon realised it was gunfire.

"We are just ordinary people," he added, saying they were more worried about livelihoods and poverty than the war itself.

Each side said it had killed dozens of enemy fighters in clashes that followed months of escalating attacks by militants that the countries accuse one another of harbouring, as well as cross-border skirmishes.

Afghanistan is already gripped by poverty, unemployment and worsening hunger since a collapse in aid deliveries after the Taliban returned to power in 2021 following a two-decade insurgency against the U.S.-backed government.

For many in the capital, the strike revived memories of past conflicts.

Yalda, 35, travelled to Darulaman on Thursday to check on her sister after hearing of the explosion. "If they attack here today, tomorrow they might target our area as well," she said.

"Misery has started again."

(Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul; writing by Ariba Shahid; editing by Philippa Fletcher)