Pakistan airstrike in Kabul leaves rumors of TTP leader’s death

Pakistan’s air force carried out a targeted airstrike in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, on early Friday (October 10).

According to Pakistani media reports, including Pakistan Observer, suggest that the strike targeted Noor Wali Mehsud, leader of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and that he may have been killed.

His close associate, Qari Saifullah Mehsud, and others may have also died. Saifullah is seen as a potential successor to Noor Wali.

Reports indicate that the strike targeted Noor Wali’s car, destroying it. While his death has not been confirmed, it is reported that he was injured.

Witnesses said he was traveling on a main road at the time of the attack. Noor Wali, one of Pakistan’s most wanted militants, had been based in Afghanistan for some time.

Following the attack, fears of a TTP retaliation have increased. The group has a strong presence in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, where 12 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a TTP assault just days ago.

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif had warned earlier that enough was enough, which coincided with the airstrike.

Local residents in Kabul reported hearing two powerful explosions, followed by an aircraft circling the area, which caused further panic.

Pakistan’s military intelligence chief, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chowdhury, is expected to hold an urgent press conference in Peshawar on Friday to provide more details.

Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the explosions on X (formerly Twitter) but downplayed their severity, urging calm.

However, locals described the blasts as quite powerful.