The Israeli military has said four soldiers were killed in combat in southern Lebanon, where its forces are clashing with Hezbollah fighters after launching a ground invasion of the country.
Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority reported that 28 people have been killed in the floods and 49 injured, with more than 100 homes destroyed. Most of the deaths were reported in central and eastern provinces, including Parwan, Maidan Wardak, Daikundi, and Logar.
On the evening of March 13, drones struck three locations across Pakistan. Two children were wounded in Quetta. Civilians were also injured in Kohat and in Rawalpindi, the garrison city that houses the headquarters of Pakistan's armed forces and neighbours the capital, Islamabad. Pakistan's military said the drones were intercepted before reaching their targets.
Afghan Taliban launched few rudimentary drones to harass the brave people of Pakistan. The drones... did not reach their intended targets. These attacks were aimed at inducing fear in the public and remind us of the terrorist mindset which drives the Afghan Taliban.
Pakistan's military carried out the air raids early on Sunday, targeting what it called camps and hideouts belonging to armed groups behind a spate of recent attacks, including a deadly suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in the capital, Islamabad. The country's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on X that the military conducted intelligence-based, selective operations against seven camps belonging to the Pakistan Taliban group, known by the acronym TTP, and its affiliates.
Pakistan said it carried out cross-border strikes on seven militant sites inside Afghanistan in a "retributive response" to recent suicide attacks claimed by Afghan-backed extremists, as tensions escalated between the two South Asian neighbors. Pakistan "has carried out intelligence-based selective targeting of seven terrorist camps and hideouts," the Information Ministry said early on February 22. Islamabad said it had "conclusive evidence" that recent attacks inside Pakistan were carried out by Afghan-based Pakistani Taliban extremists who were allegedly acting on instructions from "their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers."
The spokesperson of the Taliban regime in Kabul, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in a statement on social media platform X that the attacks "killed and wounded dozens, including women and children." He called Pakistan's claim of killing 70 militants "inaccurate." Islamabad did not say precisely which areas it targeted or provide additional details. The Afghan Defense Ministry said in a statement that "various civilian areas" in the provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika in eastern Afghanistan were hit, including a religious madrassa and multiple civilian homes.
Pakistan's military has carried out air strikes in Afghanistan, targeting what it called camps and hideouts belonging to armed groups behind a spate of recent attacks, including a suicide bombing that killed dozens of worshippers at a Shia mosque in Islamabad. There was no immediate comment from Afghanistan's Taliban government, but Afghan sources told Al Jazeera the strikes on Sunday hit two border provinces.
Pakistan carried out strikes along the border with Afghanistan on Saturday night, stating it was targeting hideouts of Pakistani militants it blames for recent attacks inside the country. Islamabad did not say in precisely which areas the strikes were carried out or provide other details. There was no immediate comment from Kabul, and reports on social media suggested the strikes were carried out inside Afghanistan.
Pakistan says it has launched strikes on armed groups in Afghanistan after blaming recent suicide bombings, including attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, on fighters it says are operating from its neighbour's territory. Kabul has repeatedly denied allowing armed groups to use Afghan territory to stage attacks in Pakistan. Afghanistan's Ministry of Defence on Sunday said dozens of innocent civilians, including women and children, were martyred and wounded when strikes hit a school and homes in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika.
Ex-players and politicians urge the ICC to step in and mend ties amid the ongoing regional cricket crisis. Pakistan's decision to boycott their T20 World Cup game against India has been termed a political move, with cricketers and politicians in both countries and around the world urging the International Cricket Council (ICC) to resolve the dispute. The Pakistani government on Sunday issued a statement saying its men's cricket team will participate in the global tournament but will not take the field in the match against archrivals India on February 15.
More than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled from Tirah, a remote region in northwestern Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, as fears grow of an imminent military offensive against the Pakistan Taliban, according to local residents and officials. Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has contradicted claims made by locals and provincial authorities, insisting no military operation is occurring or planned in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province town.
The pattern by now is all too familiar. Once again, the US is ratcheting up its rhetoric against Pakistan. Earlier instances included the "crisis" when the US killed three Pakistani soldiers and Pakistan responded by closing strategic border crossings. This was followed by the Raymond Davis fiasco. Then came exchanges of bluster over the US unilateral action that took out Osama bin Laden. Now, the target of US ire is the cozy relationship between the Haqqani network and Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI.