Two U.S. F-18 fighter jets entered Venezuelan airspace on Tuesday, circling for about 40 minutes.
The jets flew within 100 miles (about 161 km) of Maracaibo, Venezuela's second-largest city which is home to Rafael Urdaneta Air Base, one of the main military air bases in western Venezuela, according to a report from the Miami Herald.
Data from Sweden's FlightRadar24 showed the jets flying over the northern tip of Lake Maracaibo, above the waters of the Gulf of Venezuela, and between the cities of La Guajira, in Zulia state, and Coro, the capital of Falcon state. Zulia state is a key oil and gas producing region in Venezuela, while Falcon state has some of the country’s biggest refineries.
FlightRadar24 data also showed a U.S. MQ-4C Triton drone flying close to Venezuela’s coast on Tuesday, although it did not appear to enter Venezuelan airspace.
Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil warned on Tuesday that the U.S. actions pose an extremely serious challenge to regional security and peace.
The president of Venezuela's National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez Gomez, said that the U.S. military activities around the country were not intended to "combat drug trafficking", as the U.S, claims, but to attack and destroy Venezuela.
Iran warned that the recent situation poses a threat to peace in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by telephone on Tuesday and reiterated his country's "willingness to stand by Venezuela", the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry reported.
Pezeshkian also said that U.S. provocations of Venezuela "violate the principles of international law and constitute a dangerous precedent for the peoples of the world."
U.S. fighter jets enter Venezuelan airspace as tensions escalate
U.S. fighter jets enter Venezuelan airspace as tensions escalate
Pakistani warplanes struck several locations across Afghanistan on Thursday night and Friday, killing at least six people, including a woman and a child, and wounding more than a dozen others, local officials said.
The strikes hit a fuel depot near the country's Kandahar Airport, areas in the capital Kabul, and the eastern Nangarhar Province.
A Pakistani security source said the strikes targeted hideouts belonging to the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
In Kabul's 21st police district, one of the areas hit, a market was left in ruins. Several cars were destroyed, and windows of buildings in the market and nearby areas were shattered. A crater caused by the Pakistani airstrikes was also visible.
"This is my car. I had parked it here, and it was the only way I could bring food to my family's table. It was my sole source of income and my only means of employment. Now my car is in this condition, and I have no other way to provide for my family," said Mohamad Ghulam, a taxi driver.
The airstrikes destroyed a house, killing four members of a single family. More than a dozen other households in the area reported their homes either fully or partially destroyed.
One of the victims was 22-year-old Hedayatullah, who had just been married. He was killed alongside his pregnant wife, as well as his brother and sister.
"Hedayatullah got married nine months ago. His brother was 18 years old. He himself was 22 years old, he also had a 12-year-old sister, and his wife was about 19 years old and was pregnant," said Ghulam Sakhi, a relative of the victims.
"This neighbor of ours was a family of five. Their mother was not present at the moment of the bombardment, but the rest of them lost their lives. It was Hedayatuallah's family. From my own family, two of my daughters, my sister-in-law, my brother, and two nieces got injured," said Mohamad Homayoun, a survivor.
In the past weeks, scores of people from both sides have been killed or injured in the conflict between Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, according to officials from the two countries.
The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has called for an immediate halt to cross-border clashes, warning that the escalating violence is driving a surge in civilian casualties and deepening a humanitarian crisis.
At least 6 killed, more than a dozen wounded in Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan: officials
