Pakistan has launched fresh airstrikes on 10 sites in Afghanistan, saying the targets were linked to drone attacks and militant activity against Pakistan. The strikes come amid a sharp rise in tensions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, following reported drone incursions, cross-border firing and a deadly militant attack in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Pakistan says the latest strikes were “deliberate, precise, calibrated and limited” and focused on military and militant targets. Islamabad has linked the escalation to groups it identifies as Fitna-ul-Khawarij and TTP, while the Afghan Taliban has denied responsibility for attacks against Pakistan and rejected Islamabad’s accusations. Pakistan also said its forces recently shot down eight drones that entered its airspace from Afghanistan, with four intercepted near Torkham and four near Kohat. WATCH

Pakistan and Afghanistan tensions have erupted once again after Pakistan carried out overnight airstrikes and a ground operation across the border. Pakistan says the operation targeted militant hideouts in Afghanistan's Paktika, Paktia and Kunar provinces, killing 29 militants in an intelligence-based mission launched after recent terror attacks inside Pakistan, including the attack on the Pakistan Rangers headquarters in Karachi. However, Afghan authorities have strongly disputed Pakistan's account, alleging that residential areas, including homes and mosques, were hit. Afghan officials claim more than 35 civilians, including children and elderly people, were killed and over 100 others injured.