#militant-groups

#militant-groups

Afghanistan has said it had thwarted Pakistan's attempted airstrikes on Bagram airbase, the former US military base north of Kabul, as cross-border fighting between the two countries stretched into a fourth day. Months of clashes have flared up again since Thursday, when Afghanistan launched attacks along the frontier and Pakistani forces hit back on the border and from the skies.

The rising violence marked a significant escalation at a critical time for Pakistan as the Muslim nation of 250 million people reels from unrest spurred by an escalating insurgency.