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Pakistan bombed Taliban government forces in Kabul and Kandahar overnight in the first direct strikes on Taliban military sites since the group returned to power in 2021, a sharp rupture between the neighboring Islamic nations that Islamabad’s defense minister described as “open war.” The escalation raises the risk of a broader conflict along the 2,600-kilometer (1,615-mile) frontier and deepens a crisis already fueled by cross-border militant attacks. “Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and…

Pakistan said it launched multiple overnight airstrikes against militants inside eastern Afghanistan, prompting condemnation from Kabul after Afghan authorities reported children among the dead and wounded. The cross-border operation was the most extensive since October, when border clashes left more than 70 people dead on both sides and hundreds injured. Islamabad said its military hit seven sites along the frontier targeting Afghanistan-based militant groups “in the aftermath of recent suicide bombing incidents in…

Texas executes Charles Thompson for 1998 double murder, the first U.S. execution this year Texas on Wednesday put to death Charles Thompson, 55, by lethal injection for the 1998 murders of his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend, marking the first execution in the United States this year and renewing attention to the nation’s use of capital punishment. Thompson was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. Central time at a state prison in Huntsville, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said. He was sentenced to death for killing…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — U.S. Africa Command has intensified airstrikes in Somalia, pushing the annual tally to 109 and signaling a stepped-up campaign against al-Shabaab and ISIS militants in coordination with state forces in Puntland State and Jubaland. AFRICOM said multiple operations between Nov. 26 and Nov. 28 struck ISIS positions in the rugged Calmiskaad mountains of Puntland State, roughly 37 miles from Bosaso, the region’s commercial hub. The mountainous redoubt has long provided militants with cover and access to…

Alabama carries out first nitrogen execution as inmate who long maintained innocence dies Alabama executed Anthony Boyd on Thursday night using nitrogen hypoxia — a little-used method of suffocation — marking a stark moment in the U.S. debate over capital punishment. Boyd, 54, who consistently denied killing 32-year-old Gregory Huguley in 1993, was pronounced dead at 6:33pm Central, the Alabama Department of Corrections said. "He was pronounced dead at 6:33pm Central time," the department announced, closing a case that has…