India launches missile attacks on Pakistan

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A flare rises in the air over the hill near the main town of Poonch district, India, on Wednesday. India said it carried out "precision strikes at terrorist camps" inside Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir, days after it accused Pakistan of involvement in a deadly militant attack on the Indian-administered side of Kashmir. / AFP via Getty Images

India has launched strikes on several parts of Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled territory, in a dramatic escalation of tensions between the two nuclear-armed rivals.

In an assault India dubbed Operation Sindoor, the Indian military said it struck nine sites in "Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed."

The Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., wrote in a statement posted on social media that the military action was "focused and precise." "Only known terror camps were targeted," it said.

The Pakistani military's Inter-Services Public Relations said eight Pakistanis were killed in the attacks, including a 16-year-old girl, and 35 people were wounded, according to Pakistani broadcaster Geo.

Hours later, Indian army said that at least three civilians were killed in shelling by Pakistani troops in Indian-administered Kashmir. Several Indian airlines have also cancelled flights to the region.

Latest tensions were triggered by April 22 attacks

Tensions have been on the rise between India and Pakistan since April 22, when gunmen killed at least 26 tourists and injured a dozen others in India-administered Kashmir. India accused Pakistan of involvement in the attack — the worst aimed at Indian civilians in more than a decade. The Indian Defense Ministry said the overnight strikes on Pakistan were in response to the Kashmir killings.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned India's attacks and vowed that Pakistan would respond forcefully.

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Local residents and members of the media examine a building damaged by a suspected Indian missile attack near Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, on Wednesday. / AP

"Pakistan has every right to respond forcefully to this act of war imposed by India, and a forceful response is being given," Sharif said on social media. "The Pakistani nation and the Pakistani armed forces know how to deal with the enemy. We will never allow the enemy to succeed in their nefarious goals."

President Trump was asked by a reporter about the attack at the White House.

"It's a shame, we just heard about it just as we were walking in the doors of the Oval," Trump said. "They've been fighting for a long time," he said. "I just hope it ends very quickly."

The U.N. secretary-general's office called for "maximum military restraint" from both India and Pakistan, saying the world cannot afford a war between them.