Pakistan launches air strikes in Afghanistan, killing civilians, Taliban says

Pakistan said it carried out air strikes early Thursday on 10 sites in Afghanistan that it said were used to launch drone attacks against Pakistan a day earlier, a sharp escalation in recent fighting between the two countries that threatens international mediation efforts. The air strikes struck southern and eastern Afghan provinces of Kandahar, Paktia and Khost, killing four civilians, Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement. “These shameless acts of aggression and attacks by the Pakistani military regime will be met with an appropriate response,” he said. The announcement of the strikes by Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar in a post on X came after officials said Afghanistan’s Taliban forces had fired eight drones and shelled Pakistani border posts after Pakistani troops foiled what they described as a cross-border infiltration attempt by militants. Mujahid, the Afghan government spokesperson, rejected Pakistan's claims of drone attacks and warned of “consequences” for Pakistan over its air strikes. The conflicting statements about the drone attacks came two days after Pakistani fighter jets struck sites in eastern Afghanistan that Islam...