Several months ago, close in time to when the US-Iran war started, a separate conflict had erupted further east, along the Af-Pak border and even reaching as deep into Afghanistan as far as Kabul (where Pakistani airstrikes rained down).
Hostilities have abruptly flared up again along the Afghan-Pakistan border overnight as cross-border airstrikes launched by the Pakistani military killed 13 civilians, according to Afghan Taliban officials.
The aerial attacks impacted the Afghan border provinces of Kunar, Khost, and Paktika, stated Zabihullah Mujahid, according to Afghan officials.
There has been relative calm in the situation as a months-long ceasefire largely held, but the new bombardment marks the deadliest single episode in several weeks.
The Pakistani side has made no mention of civilians, but instead says its operation killed over two dozen armed militants:
Pakistan's government said on Wednesday that 26 "militants" linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group were killed in the attacks.
"In the aftermath of recent terrorist incidents in Pakistan .... precise and calibrated Strikes were carried out along Pakistan Afghanistan border areas on hideouts and safe havens," Pakistan's information minister Attaullah Tarar posted on X.
He did not comment on any civilian casualties after Afghan authorities, who have denied Afghanistan is used for militancy, said at least 12 people, including children, were left dead in the strikes.
An AFP correspondent has offered a vastly differing account, with on report saying: "An AFP journalist saw a house completely destroyed in the southeastern province of Khost, where residents were digging graves to bury those killed in the overnight attack."
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stated in the aftermath that "11 children, one woman, and one elderly man were killed" in strikes on Khost, Kunar and Paktika provinces.
Pakistan's military released footage and its own counter-narrative:
Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which share the disputed 1,600-mile Durand Line, have shifted from cautious engagement to open hostility.
The history has been marked by shifting from one-time allies to on-and-off again enemies. Many analysts are pointing to 'blowback' for Pakistan after sponsoring the Taliban's rise in the first place, decades ago (which also had the help of the CIA in 'Operation Cyclone'). Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of sheltering Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants who carry out cross-border attacks.