Twin Explosions Rock Kabul Amid Reported Strike on TTP Chief Noor Wali Mehsud

KABUL, Oct. 10 — Two powerful explosions followed by heavy gunfire rattled the Afghan capital on Thursday evening, with multiple eyewitnesses also reporting the presence of a fighter jet over Kabul’s airspace. According to top intelligence sources, the incident was a precision aerial strike targeting Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Noor Wali Mehsud, believed to be operating from a TTP–al-Qaeda safehouse in eastern Kabul.

Sources confirm that the strike successfully hit the compound. However, CNN-News18 has accessed an alleged voice message from Noor Wali Mehsud, in which he claims to be safe and currently in Pakistan, though he admits his son was killed in the attack. The operation’s nature—directed against a high-value Pakistani militant—strongly suggests a covert cross-border strike.

The timing is particularly significant, coming less than 48 hours after Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif publicly accused Afghanistan of sheltering terrorists. This has fuelled speculation that the operation may have been a retaliatory mission, either conducted by Pakistan itself or by a third-party power acting with Islamabad’s intelligence inputs and possible tactical support.

“This is a highly provocative move,” a senior regional security official said, noting that this marks the first suspected Pakistani strike inside Kabul since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. With Afghanistan’s limited air defence capabilities and the absence of the former Afghan Air Force, the alleged use of Pakistani-origin jets, possibly with foreign technical assistance, is being viewed by Taliban officials as a direct violation of Afghan sovereignty.

The escalation coincides with Afghanistan’s Interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s ongoing visit to India, where he is expected to meet External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

Analysts warn that the strike—particularly the reported death of Mehsud’s son—could deepen divisions within the TTP’s Shura Council, which is already split between factions aligned with Kabul and Rawalpindi. The ensuing leadership vacuum and infighting could spill over into Kunar, Nangarhar, and Paktika provinces, further straining the fragile ties between Pakistan and the Taliban-led Afghan government.

The incident underscores the growing volatility in the region, where counterterrorism, state sovereignty, and proxy dynamics continue to collide in the post-U.S. withdrawal era.