Why did India attack Pakistan with missiles?

Parts of Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir were rocked by multiple missile strikes from India early Wednesday morning, killing at least eight people, including a three-year-old child .

Pakistan's military said Indian missiles hit six cities. That included four different locations in Punjab province - the first time India has struck Pakistan's most populous state since the 1971 war between the neighbors. The other two targets were Muzaffarabad and Kotli, both in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

India claimed that its "Operation Sindoor" targeted nine countries with "terrorist infrastructure".

Pakistan scrambled its jets in response and claimed to have shot down five Indian planes - a claim to which India has yet to respond.

The Indian attack came 15 days after a deadly attack on tourists in the picturesque town of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22, which India blamed on militant groups it said were backed by Pakistan. Islamabad denied any role in that attack.

What is India Pakistani?

Pakistani army spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, at an early morning press conference, said Indian missiles targeted four locations in Punjab and two in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

The largest attack was in Ahmedpur Sharqia, near the city of Bahawalpur in Punjab. According to Chaudhry, a mosque complex was hit and five people were killed, including a three-year-old girl.

Other attacks occurred in the town of Muridke, a village near the city of Sialkot, and Shakar Garh, all in Punjab.

Two places in Pakistani-administered Kashmir - Muzaffarabad and Kotli - were also hit, and two mosques were destroyed, according to Pakistani authorities. A 16-year-old girl and an 18-year-old boy were among those killed in the attacks, they said.

Chaudhry said at least eight Pakistanis were killed in total and 35 were wounded in the attack. Punjab province declared a state of emergency, with hospitals and security forces on high alert, and schools were closed on Wednesday.

Why did India attack Pakistan?

The latest round of conflict between the two nuclear-armed nations came after the attack in the Baisaran Valley in the Pahalgam region of Indian-administered Kashmir. Gunmen killed 26 men - 25 tourists and a local pony rider - after separating them from the women.

India has for years blamed Pakistan for supporting, arming and training armed groups it accuses of fomenting unrest in the valley. Pakistan has insisted it only provides moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri separatist movement.

After the attack last month, India blamed an unknown group, the Terrorist Resistance Front (TRF), and claimed it was a Pakistani-backed group with a sanctuary there. Pakistan, while issuing a condemnation, strongly denied its involvement and demanded a "transparent, credible and impartial" investigation into the incident.