KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban forces and Pakistan’s military exchanged fire at multiple locations along their shared border, killing at least two children and wounding 10 people in southeastern Afghanistan, Afghan officials said Monday, as fighting continued for a third consecutive week despite international calls for a ceasefire.
Ten people were also injured when mortar shells fired from Pakistan overnight struck villages in Afghanistan’s Khost province, said Mustaghfar Gurbaz, a spokesman for the provincial governor. He said several homes were destroyed.
The latest violence came a day after Pakistan said a mortar fired from Afghanistan hit a house in the northwestern Bajaur district, killing four members of the same family and wounding two others, including a 5-year-old child. Residents in Bajaur and officials said the military on Monday targeted Afghan positions along the border, where Sunday’s attack originated, and caused heavy losses.
There was no immediate comment from Afghanistan.
The cross-border clashes, which have included multiple Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, are among the deadliest between the two neighbors in recent years.
Islamabad has described the situation as an “open war.” Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari said Afghanistan's Taliban administration crossed a “red line” by deploying drones that injured several civilians in Pakistan last week.
Responding to those drone attacks, Pakistan’s air force on the weekend struck equipment storage sites and “technical support infrastructure” in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province, saying it was being used for attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul said Pakistan hit two locations, including an empty security site and a drug rehabilitation center that sustained minor damage.
In Kabul, Afghanistan’s administrative Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi overnight said defending sovereignty is the duty of all citizens if it is violated.
Speaking during a meeting with political analysts and media figures, Hanafi expressed regret over civilian casualties in recent Pakistani attacks, saying the war was imposed on Afghanistan.
However, Pakistan accuses Kabul of harboring militant groups, particularly the Pakistani Taliban, which it says carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegation, saying it does not allow its territory to be used against other countries.
The ongoing fighting between the two sides began in late February after Afghanistan launched cross-border attacks in response to Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan that Kabul said killed civilians. The clashes disrupted a ceasefire brokered by Qatar in October after earlier fighting killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants.
Ahmed reported from Islamabad.
People attend the funeral prayers of police officers, killed in the roadside bomb explosion, outskirts of Lakki Marwat, a district in northwest Pakistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/G.A. Marwat)
Residents inspect the site of a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Barackatullah Popal)
Residents and Taliban police gather the remains of a projectile at the site of a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Barackatullah Popal)
Sarah Fillier spent her first two seasons with the New York Sirens accustomed to staring at empty blocks of seats across the bench during home games.
Because of poor turnouts, the PWHL team — for practical and visual purposes — limited ticket sales for seats in Sections 2-11 located behind the benches at the Prudential Center, home of the NHL's New Jersey Devils.
All that changed for New York’s game against Ottawa on March 8, when the entire lower bowl was filled. Fans even populated sections in the upper level to help set a Sirens home attendance record of 8,264.
“Being able to look across and see fans cheer you on, getting involved in the game and reacting to in-game emotions and situations, it was so cool,” Fillier said of a turnout that saw a 6-2 win and eclipsed their previous best of 5,132.
“We’ve experienced a lot of that on the road, when the crowd is really against you. It was really nice to have them truly on our side this game,” she added. “And we obviously wanted to put on a show so we can hopefully get them back at future home games.”
The Sirens’ attendance spike reflects a surge in attention for women’s hockey, and for the PWHL in particular, in the weeks following Team USA’s 2-1 overtime win against Canada at the Winter Olympics.
The PWHL’s first three games out of the Olympic break were sellouts, including a league-record 17,335 turnout in Seattle. The league already has sold out upcoming games at New York's Madison Square Garden and Boston’s TD Garden. And the post-Olympic attention led to the PWHL reaching a deal with Scripps Sports to broadcast its first game to a national U.S. audience.
“You always hope for the best. You have this belief that this could be something big,” executive VP of business operations Amy Scheer said. “Have we exceeded expectations? Sure. But I think inwardly we knew what was capable of happening here.”
One benefit was having a two-plus-year lead-up to the Olympics, which allowed the league to establish a presence in six markets before adding expansion teams in Seattle and Vancouver this season. It also gave PWHL executives time to develop a plan on how to leverage the Games to market itself to fans and sponsors.
Scheer said the PWHL invited about 25 partners to join them in Milan, including coordinating hotels, tickets for events and dinners.
“We made sure every piece of our business was ready to capitalize on what could happen and was going to happen after the Olympics,” she said. “And now that work, and maybe the most important work, is continuing.”
The one-time broadcast deal with Scripps Sports was struck in Milan, and has the potential to turn into a long-time partnership. Sponsors were pitched on various programs and youth development projects the PWHL is preparing to launch.
And then there’s more expansion, with the PWHL planning to add as many as four markets for next season.
As for ticket sales, StubHub released figures on Friday that indicate searches for PWHL games have jumped by nearly 50% since the Olympics. Ticket purchases for the league’s four U.S.-based franchises have jumped by 42% over the same time last year.
The game changer is having the PWHL in place. While women’s hockey always enjoyed a boost every four years, players never had an established league such as the PWHL to come home to until now.
“It’s incredible,” said Boston Fleet defender Megan Keller, who scored the clinching goal against Canada and went on to make a celebrated appearance on “Saturday Night Live” with team captain Hilary Knight. “I’m not totally shocked. But I would say, yeah, it does feel like I was a little bit surprised at how much attention we got from the Games."
The evidence is with the Sirens, a team that had difficulty finding a home in its first season before moving to New Jersey, and struggled generating attention in a crowded sports market. The team averaged a league-low 2,764 fans per game last season.
Fillier might have settled for silver while representing Canada, but she is celebrating the benefits the entire league is enjoying coming out of Milan.
“I think it was just the perfect storm of an incredible final, gold-medal game, and just bringing fans right into the PWHL, and have that hockey kind of on demand for them to be a part of,” Fillier said. “It’s incredible. And it’s a testament to this league, too, and all the players who have been here from the start.”
AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey
Minnesota Frost forward Taylor Heise, right, celebrate her goal with teammate Kendall Cooper during the third period of a PWHL hockey game, in Toronto, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
FILE -Fans get excited during the first period of a PWHL game between the New York Sirens and the Minnesota Frost, at Little Caesars Arena, in Detroit, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP, File)
United States women's gold medal hockey players Megan Keller, center, Aerin Frankel, left, and Haley Winn, right, acknowledge the crowd before a ceremonial puck drop ahead of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
