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

Fresh violence has pushed Afghanistan and Pakistan closer to a deeper confrontation after Kabul accused Islamabad of carrying out new airstrikes that reportedly killed 13 people and injured 14 others. According to Taliban authorities, the strikes targeted areas in Khost, Kunar and Paktika provinces, resulting in the deaths of 11 children, one woman and one elderly man. The allegations have sparked renewed tensions between the neighboring countries, which have been locked in a prolonged cycle of border clashes, militant attacks and security operations. Pakistan has not immediately responded to the latest accusations. However, the reported airstrikes come shortly after a deadly attack on a security post in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that left six Federal Constabulary personnel dead.