A powerful explosion shook the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Friday, just hours after the Taliban government announced it had launched a cross‑border attack against Pakistan.

The blast was heard at around 1:50 a.m. (21:20 GMT), after at least one fighter jet was heard flying over the city, followed by successive bursts of gunfire, according to AFP. One resident said that as many as eight explosions rocked the city.

The resident, who requested anonymity for security reasons, added, "The first two explosions were far from us. The later ones were close and shook the house, and the sound of fighter jets could be heard after each explosion.”

This came only hours after Afghanistan launched a military attack on Pakistan on Thursday, describing it as retaliation for deadly airstrikes that had targeted Afghan territory days earlier.

The Afghan army announced Thursday that it had taken control of Pakistani military positions amid an ongoing offensive along the border. The Afghan Ministry of Defense confirmed the killing of 55 Pakistani soldiers and the capture of two military bases as a result of the attack.

According to officials, the assault targeted several positions along the border and followed months of clashes and Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan territory.