By MUNIR AHMED and ABDUL QAHAR AFGHAN

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghan forces attacked Pakistani military positions along the border early on Tuesday, triggering intense clashes that left 67 Afghan troops and one Pakistani soldier dead, officials in Islamabad said as cross-border fighting between the two countries entered its fifth day.

The Taliban defense ministry in Kabul, the Afghan capital, rejected Pakistan’s claim. A ministry spokesman said Afghan forces in the past 24 hours repelled Pakistani attacks, destroying about a dozen military posts and killing four Pakistani soldiers.

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The latest Afghan-Pakistan escalation erupted last week with Afghanistan launching attacks on Thursday in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes the previous weekend. Since then, Pakistan has carried out operations along the border and declared it was in an “open war” with Afghanistan, alarming the international community.

On Tuesday, Pakistan said Afghan forces attacked Pakistan’s military in two sections of the two countries’ border.

It said 16 locations were attacked along the southern part of the border, in the southwestern districts of Qilla Saifullah, Nushki and Chaman in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.

Pakistani troops killed 27 members of the Afghan forces there and “successfully repelled these multiple attacks,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.

Tarar said on X that another wave of attacks hit 25 locations along the northern part of the border, in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Pakistani troops killed 40 members of the Afghan security forces. The spokesman did not say where the Pakistani soldier was killed.

In Kabul, defense ministry spokesman Enayatullah Khawarazmi slammed the Islamabad statements as “baseless.”

The border area — where militant groups, including al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, are also active — is not accessible to the media and the Associated Press could not independently confirm any casualty reports.

In past escalations and cross-border exchanges of fire, Pakistan and Afghanistan have both repeatedly claimed to inflicting heavy losses on the other side.

In the five days of fighting, Tarar said Pakistani forces have so far killed 464 Afghan security force members and injured 665. Khawarazmi said in a statement that so far, 28 Afghan soldiers have died and 42 others have been wounded in the fighting.

Smoke emits from the Afghan side as trucks are parked along roadside following cross-border clashes between Pakistan and Afghan forces, at near Torkham border crossing point, Pakistan, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Maaz Awan)

Islamabad has long accused Kabul of providing a safe haven to militants fighting the Pakistani government — charges that Afghanistan’s Taliban government denies.

Khawarazmi reiterated that stand on Tuesday. “I repeat once again that we will not allow any person or group to use our territory against other countries,” he said.

Separately, Hamdullah Fitrat, the Afghan government’s deputy spokesman, accused Pakistan of violating Afghan airspace and targeting homes, mosques, religious schools or madrasas and other civilian targets in Kabul, Laghman, Nangarhar, Paktia, Kandahar and Kunar provinces, as well as targeting refugee camps.

He said these attacks have resulted in the death of 110 civilians, including 65 women and children.

Fitrat said the Taliban government of Afghanistan considers its “legitimate right” to protect their people and will “fight against the enemy … until this aggression is stopped.”

Meanwhile, the U.N. mission in Kabul called for an immediate halt to the fighting, warning that the conflict is worsening Afghanistan’s dire humanitarian situation. According to its preliminary figures, since last Thursday, at least 42 civilians have been killed and 104 injured, including women and children.

On Monday, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari defended the ongoing fighting with Afghanistan, saying Islamabad had tried all forms of diplomacy before targeting militants operating from Afghan territory.

He asked Kabul to disarm groups responsible for attacks in Pakistan.

Pakistan has experienced a surge in violence in recent months, which it blames on the outlawed Pakistani Taliban — known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. Islamabad says the TTP operates from Afghan territory and have the protection of Afghanistan’s Taliban government. Kabul denies the accusations.

The latest fighting has ended a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey in October. Talks in Istanbul failed to produce a permanent agreement, and Pakistan has said that operations will continue until Afghanistan takes verifiable steps to rein in the TTP and other militants.

The Pakistani Taliban are a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban and since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the TTP has become emboldened and escalated its attacks in Pakistan.

Abdul Qahar Afghan reported from Kabul, Afghanistan. Associated Press writer Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

BY ABBY SEWELL and BASSEM MROUE

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel sent additional troops into southern Lebanon Tuesday and ordered residents of more than 80 villages to evacuate as the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group said it is ready for an open war, escalating the already volatile situation in the region.

The latest exchanges started after Hezbollah fired rockets and drones early Monday toward northern Israel. Israel retaliated with a wave of airstrikes that killed 52 people in Lebanon, including a Palestinian militant and a Hezbollah intelligence official in Beirut’s southern suburbs. More than 150 people were wounded and tens of thousands displaced.

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Hezbollah said Tuesday morning it fired two salvos of rockets toward northern Israel while Israeli airstrikes overnight damaged a building housing Hezbollah’s TV and radio stations. Beirut’s southern suburbs were subjected to a series of strikes in the early afternoon Tuesday that came without warning, and the Israeli military later said it targeted Hezbollah officials.

The Israeli military’s Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, issued a warning for residents of more than 80 villages and towns asking them to leave, adding that people should not return to these areas until further notice.

A senior Hezbollah official said that after more than a year of abiding by a ceasefire as Israel’s strikes continued on Lebanon, the group’s patience has ended, leaving it with no option “but to return to resistance” and fight an open war with Israel.

“The Zionist enemy wanted an open war, which it has not stopped since the ceasefire agreement,” Mohamoud Komati said “So let it be an open war.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the U.S., France and Egypt Tuesday that Hezbollah has been firing rockets from areas north of the Litani river. The Lebanese government says it has disarmed Hezbollah south of the river, along the border with Israel, and Lebanese troops are in full control of the area between the river and the border.

Shortly before Aoun spoke, the Israeli military said it has sent additional troops into southern Lebanon and took new positions on several strategic points close to the border, while Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the Lebanese army was evacuating some of its positions along the border.

Adraee, the spokesman, posted on X that the troops’ move inside Lebanon is part of efforts to bolster the forward defense system and create an addition layer of security.

A Lebanese military official confirmed to The Associated Press that Israeli troops moved into several areas in Lebanon, adding that the Lebanese army is “repositioning” in the area.

The U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, said its peacekeepers observed Israeli forces crossing into Lebanon in several areas Tuesday morning “before returning south of the Blue Line,” referring to the border between the two countries.

Israel launched a ground invasion of Lebanon in October 2024 during its last war with Hezbollah. It withdrew from most of southern Lebanon after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire halted the fighting in November 2024 but has continued to occupy five points on the Lebanese side of the border since then.

After the ceasefire, Israel continued to carry out near-daily strikes, primarily in southern Lebanon, saying that Hezbollah has been trying to rebuild its forces in the area.

Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel a day after the militant Palestinian group Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, triggering the war in Gaza. After months of low-level fighting, the conflict escalated into a full-scale war in September 2024 before a U.S. brokered ceasefire nominally halted the fighting two months later.

By YURI KAGEYAMA AND MICHELLE CHAPMAN, AP Business Writers

NEW YORK (AP) — Global markets slumped and oil prices soared to levels not seen in more than a year as Iran launched a series of retaliatory attacks, including a drone strike on the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia.

U.S. futures are down sharply Tuesday with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 1.7%.

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Benchmark U.S. crude jumped 8.6% to $77.36 a barrel. Gas prices were already rising before the U.S. struck Iran as refiners switch over to summer blends of fuel.

The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. jumped 11 cents overnight to about $3.11, according to data from motor club AAA.

Brent crude, the international standard, added 6.7% to $81.29 a barrel. Global oil prices jumped to start the week over concerns that the war will clog the global flow of crude.

Stocks of airlines, including American Airlines, United and Delta have continued to slide, falling between 2% to 3% before Tuesday’s market open. Higher oil prices threatens to send ticket prices higher and fighting in the Middle East already has closed airports and left travelers stranded.

Shares of Amazon declined 2% in premarket trading Tuesday as the online giant said Monday that two of its data centers in United Arab Emirates were hit by drones, while a drone strike near one of its facilities in Bahrain “caused physical impacts to our infrastructure.”

In early European trading, France’s CAC 40 dropped 2.9% to 8,151.12, while in Germany the DAX sank 3.7% to 23,738.90. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 2.6% to 10,496.32.

In South Korea, a big energy importer, the Kospi plunged 7.2% as markets reopened after a holiday on Monday, closing at 5,791.91.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 sank 3.1% to finish at 56,279.05. Like other resource-poor countries in the region, Japan could be especially hit by the lack of access to the Strait of Hormuz, since much of its oil and natural gas imports are shipped through there.

Analysts say Japan has a sizable stockpile lasting more than 200 days, and so the threat isn’t immediate.

Japanese energy stocks plunged, with Eneos Corp. down 3.4% and Idemitsu Kosan down 3.1%. Defense-related issues, which have risen recently on expectations of more military spending by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, sank back as traders sold to lock in gains from the day before. Mitsubishi Heavy plunged 5.3%, and IHI lost 4.9%.

In the rest of the region, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.3% to 9,077.30, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1.1% to 25,768.08. The Shanghai Composite index lost 1.4% to 4,122.68.

The losses cascaded in Asia, with ANA stock down 3.3%, while Japan Airlines fell 6.4%. Korean Air declined 10.3% and Qantas Airways lost 1.8%.

Despite global markets in retreat, the reactions to the war have been moderated by the fact that past military conflicts in the Middle East haven’t caused long-term declines. For this war to knock down U.S. stocks in a significant and sustained way, the price of oil would perhaps need to jump above $100 per barrel, according to strategists at Morgan Stanley led by Michael Wilson.

“Since 2000, there have been 22 one-day oil price spikes of more than 10%,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management. “In other words, energy shocks do not automatically derail equities unless they are severe and sustained. The market is well aware of that playbook.”

On Monday, the S&P 500 fell as much as 1.2% but finished with a gain of less than 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1% and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%. Both also recovered from steep early losses.

In currency trading early Tuesday, the U.S. dollar edged up to 157.58 Japanese yen from 157.47 yen. The euro cost $1.1608, down from $1.1692.

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Target reported another quarter of declining sales and profits as the retailer struggles to regain its footing with its customers contending with higher prices almost everywhere.

But the Minneapolis company on Tuesday offered a solid annual profit outlook that was better than Wall Street had been projecting, It also said it believes net sales will grow every quarter this year.

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Target also said comparable-store sales rose to start the current quarter.

Shares jumped more than 4% before the opening bell.

The company earned $2.30 per share, or $1.05 billion, for the three-month period ended Jan. 31. That compares with $2.41 per share, or $1.10 billion, during the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings per share for the most recent quarter was $2.44.

Sales fell 1.5% to $30.45 billion during the latest period. For the full year, sales fell nearly 2% to $104.78 billion.

Analysts were expecting $2.16 per share on sales of $30.46 billion, according to a survey by FactSet.

Comparable sales — sales at established stores and online channels — fell 2.5%, followed by a 2.7% dip in the fiscal third quarter. The latest figure marks 11 quarters out of the past 13 that Target has posted either declines or flattish growth for this measure.

Target’s performance underscores the challenges faced by new CEO Michael Fiddelke, a 20-year company veteran, who succeeded longtime CEO Brian Cornell last month.

Fiddelke is expected to reveal details about his plans to turn around Target on Tuesday during the company’s annual meeting in Minneapolis. Investors are hungry for a return to Target’s former dominance in affordable chic for which it earned it the nickname “Tarzhay” in years past.

Fiddelke takes over with Target’s hometown of Minneapolis a front line of sorts in President Donald Trump’s campaign to curb illegal immigration. Some of the company’s stores have become a flashpoint in a pushback against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The company has faced pressure to take a public stand against the immigration crackdown.

Even before the immigration clashes, Target had been facing protests and boycotts over the company’s decision to roll back its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Critics believe it’s a betrayal of Target’s retail giant’s philanthropic commitment to fighting racial disparities and promoting progressive values in liberal Minneapolis and beyond.

That is outside of a volatile economic and political environment that has been intensified by an aggressive trade campaign under Trump. The White House is now seeking a global tariff of 15%, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down many of the far-reaching taxes on imports that he had imposed over the last year.

While the pace of inflation has cooled, consumer prices have soared about 25% over the past five years. U.S. companies are facing a hazy outlook with American households hurting, and the Trump administration is trying to work around the Supreme Court ruling to keep his duties in place.

And Target customers have soured on what they see as untended and messy stores with lackluster merchandise.

As the company’s nearly 2,000 store locations have become shipping hubs for online operations, customers say the shopping experience within stores has suffered with staff fulfilling digital orders rather than tending to store aisles.

Target is also facing stiffer competition from Walmart, which has stepped up its focus on fashion and other goods. As many Americans trade down because of inflation, Walmart has gained market share, particularly among households with annual income above $100,000.

Joe Feldman, a senior managing director and the assistant director of research at Telsey Advisory Group, believes that shopper boycotts over its pullback from DEI and its lack of a forceful stand against ICE cut into sales. But he said overall, Fiddelke seems to be willing to make changes to improve its operations.

Fiddelke has already reshuffled the leadership team at Target, boosted spending on in-store store staffing and made cuts at distribution facilities and regional offices, according to a memo sent to employees in February.

The company is also reworking its store label brands such as its home goods brand called Threshold and announced a merchandise collaboration with Roller Rabbit, a brand known for its 1960s-inspired silhouettes and colorful playful prints. The collection of clothing, pajamas and accessories is expected to make its debut at Target this month for a limited time.

Tuesday’s report offered some hopeful signs for the business. Target said that sales and customer traffic accelerated in the final two months of the quarter. And it saw sales growth in food and beverage, beauty and toys for the latest quarter.

Target said that it expects net sales for the year to increase by 2%, which would mean it expects sales to reach $106.88 billion. That’s a bit above analysts’ expectations of $106.7 billion. Target also anticipates earnings per share to be in the range of $7.50 to $8.50. Analysts are expecting $7.30 per share for the year, according to analysts polled by FactSet.