U.S. destroys major bridge in Iran; IRGC claims strike on Amazon data center; Trump imposes 100% tariff on brand-name drugs

Drop Site Daily: April 3, 2026

U.S. strikes and destroys Karaj Bridge, killing eight. Trump says U.S. destroyed three major Iranian bridges overnight. Iran shoots down U.S. fighter jet. Iranian missile strike on Petah Tikva hit Israeli drone manufacturer Aero Sol. IRGC claims strikes on Amazon and Oracle data centers in the gulf. Tanker and carriers attempt Hormuz transit. Forty nations meet on Thursday to talk Hormuz reopening. Iran reportedly working with Oman on Hormuz navigation protocol. U.S. intelligence finds half of Iran’s missile launchers intact. Hamas will not discuss disarmament unless Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza. Trump fires Pam Bondi. Homeland Security shutdown extends into recess. Hegseth demands resignation of Army chief, two senior generals in leadership purge. Trump imposes 100% tariff on imported brand-name drugs. Federal inspection finds 49 violations at nation’s largest immigration detention facility. Muslim civil rights groups condemn ICE arrest of Palestinian American community leader. Iraqi group claims 23 strikes on U.S. bases. U.S. special operations forces join Ecuador in raid of alleged drug compound. Senegal doubles prison term for same-sex relations. Satellite images show Chinese and Turkish combat drones at Haftar’s airbase in Libya. Russia and Ukraine trade strikes, with Kharkiv targeted. ISIS-linked ADF kills 43 civilians in northeast Congo attack. Drone strike on Sudan hospital kills 10. Morocco has less than two months of fuel reserves. Russia loads second oil tanker bound for Cuba. French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan detained in Paris over social media post.

NEW from Drop Site: Israel’s assault on southern Lebanon. Pakistan’s military campaign against Afghanistan ravages civilian population.

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The Karaj bridge, several kilometers west of Tehran, which was destroyed during U.S.-Israeli military operations in Iran, on April 3, 2026. Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

War on Iran

• U.S. and Israel target civilian infrastructure in Iran:

  • President Donald Trump celebrated a double tap strike on a highway bridge linking Tehran to Karaj on Thursday, sharing video of the attack that killed eight people and wounded 95. The second strike occurred as rescue workers responded to the initial attack, according to the Fars news agency. Iranian officials told state media the casualties were civilians who had gathered beneath the bridge and along the riverbank to celebrate Nature Day in Iran. The unfinished bridge intended to connect Tehran to the Caspian Sea. “The biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again — Much more to follow! IT IS TIME FOR IRAN TO MAKE A DEAL BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE, AND THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OF WHAT STILL COULD BECOME A GREAT COUNTRY!” Trump wrote on social media. Trump told Time magazine in an interview on Thursday that U.S. forces destroyed three major bridges in Iran.

  • A large column of smoke was seen near Mashhad International Airport in northeastern Iran on Thursday after a reported strike. Iranian media said fuel tanks and a warehouse were likely targeted.

  • U.S.-Israeli airstrikes hit a Red Crescent relief warehouse in Iran’s Bushehr province on Friday, according to the Red Crescent. The attack destroyed two relief containers, a bus and an emergency vehicle.

• Iran shoots down U.S. fighter jet: Iran shot down a U.S. fighter jet over southern Tehran province, according to U.S. and Israeli officials cited by The New York Times as well as reports in Iranian state-affiliated media. An Iranian official told Drop Site News on Friday that the warplane was an F-15 fighter jet and that because of the nature of the strike, the pilot could not evacuate before crashing. Photos of the wreckage were published by the Fars News Agency. “The fighter jet belongs to the 48th Squadron of the U.S. European Command, based at Lakenheath Air Base, England,” the semi-official Tasmin news agency reported. “The squadron has been deployed to the CENTCOM mission area for operations against Iran.”

• Iranian missile strike on Petah Tikva hit Israeli drone manufacturer Aero Sol: An Iranian ballistic missile that struck Petah Tikva, a city in central Israel east of Tel Aviv, hit a facility belonging to Aero Sol, an Israeli defense company that designs, manufactures, and operates tactical drones for government and military clients. Aero Sol also manufactures composite components for Israeli aircraft, including parts used in F-15 and F-16 fighter jet pilot helmets.

• Kuwait desalination plant, oil refinery struck: An attack on a desalination plant in Kuwait on Friday caused “material damage to some of the plant’s components,” according to Kuwaiti authorities. About 90% of drinking water in Kuwait comes from desalination. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) denied targeting the plant and instead blamed Israel for the attack. Iranian drones also struck Kuwait’s state-run Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery on Friday, sparking fires at the facility. The Mina al-Ahmadi refinery is one of the largest refineries in the Middle East. It has come under attack at least three times in the war.

• Operations suspended at major UAE gas facility: Debris from an intercepted missile caused a fire at the Habshan gas facility, a major Emirati gas processing complex, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office. “Operations have been suspended while authorities respond to a fire. No injuries have been reported,” the office said.

• IRGC claims strikes on Amazon and Oracle data centers in the Gulf: Iran’s IRGC claimed Thursday it targeted cloud and data infrastructure in surrounding Gulf countries, including an Amazon computing center in Bahrain and an Oracle data center in Dubai. No confirmation has been provided for the Oracle attack, with Dubai’s Media Office calling it “fake news” in a post on X, but reports indicate that Amazon Web Services experienced a service outage Thursday. Iran had previously warned it would strike a list of 18 Western companies for each assassination attempt carried out against Iranian officials.

• IRGC says it conducted joint missile strike with Houthis on Israel: The IRGC said Thursday its aerospace forces, operating jointly with Yemen’s Houthi fighters, launched a major missile strike on the Tel Aviv area and the southern Israeli port city of Eilat, designating the attack the 91st wave of its ongoing missile operation against Israel. The IRGC said it deployed long-range liquid and solid fuel ultra-heavy missile systems targeting military-industrial facilities and troop positions, and claimed more than five million people sought shelter in underground facilities across Israel. Significant damage was reported in the central Israeli town of Ramat Gan, purportedly as a result of a falling Iranian fragmentation missile.

• IRGC claims it downed Israeli and American aircraft: In addition to downing an F-15 in southern Iran, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Thursday it intercepted and destroyed a Hermes 900 drone over Shiraz in Fars province, according to a state news outlet. The IRGC also claimed on Thursday that it shot down an advanced enemy fighter jet south of Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf, claiming the aircraft crashed between Qeshm and Hengam islands and sank.

• Tanker and carriers attempt Hormuz transit: Three vessels—two very large crude carriers and one liquefied natural gas tanker—are attempting to exit the Gulf eastbound by hugging the Omani coastline and broadcasting Omani ship identities via AIS signals, according to a reporter from Lloyd’s List. The maneuver appears to be a test of alternative transit routes through the strait, and if successful, it would be the first LNG shipment through the chokepoint since the war began.

• Forty nations meet on Thursday to talk Hormuz reopening: Forty countries met on Thursday to discuss restoring navigation through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran seized control of the route following U.S.-Israeli strikes. The United States did not participate. European nations who previously declined to contribute to a naval mission are reportedly considering reversing that stance, with Britain and France leading a potential coalition. The French, however, are not committing to any forcible opening, with French President Macron telling the media on Thursday that a forcible reopening would be “unrealistic,” might take years, and would leave ships exposed to Iranian attacks.

• Iran reportedly working with Oman on Hormuz navigation protocol: Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Thursday that Tehran and Muscat are developing a formal protocol to regulate navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, in an interview with Russia’s state-owned media outlet Sputnik. Under the proposed peacetime framework, ships would be required to coordinate with Iran and Oman in advance and obtain permits for passage. The draft is in its final stages, with formal negotiations between Tehran and Muscat expected once internal reviews are complete.

• U.S. intelligence finds half of Iran’s missile launchers intact: Roughly half of Iran’s missile launchers remain operational, and thousands of its attack drones are still functional, according to U.S. intelligence assessments reviewed by three sources who spoke to CNN. “They are still very much poised to wreak absolute havoc throughout the entire region,” one source told the outlet. The assessment directly contradicts Trump’s claim on Wednesday that Iran’s missile and drone capabilities are “dramatically curtailed” with “very few of them left.” The intelligence also found that a large percentage of Iran’s coastal defense cruise missiles—the weapons most capable of threatening Hormuz shipping—remain intact.

• Global food prices rise as Iran war raises energy costs: World food prices rose in March, due largely to higher energy costs ‌linked to the Iran war, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said on Friday. The FAO Food Price Index, which ⁠measures changes in a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 128.5 points in March, up 2.4% from February. “If the conflict stretches beyond 40 days with high input costs with current low margins,” FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero said in a statement, “farmers will have to choose: farm the same with fewer inputs, plant less, or switch to less intensive fertilizer crops.”

Lebanon and Gaza

• Casualty count: The death toll from Israel’s assault on Lebanon has risen to at least 1,345—with 4,040 wounded—since March 2, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

• Killings and forced displacement in Lebanon:

  • At least five people were killed in a series of Israeli strikes across Lebanon Friday, including two worshippers targeted by a drone as they left a mosque in Sahmar in the western Bekaa, one in Borj Qalaouiyeh, one in Yahmar al-Shaqif in the Nabatieh district, and one in Shaaitiyeh, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

  • The Israeli army also threatened to strike two bridges linking Sahmar and Mashghara, ordering residents to move north of the Zahrani River, while issuing evacuation warnings to residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs, particularly in Haret Hreik, Ghobeiri, Laylaki, Hadath, Borj el-Barajneh, Tahwitat al-Ghadir, and Chiyah, in posts shared by the Israeli military’s Arabic spokesperson.

• Two peacekeepers injured: Two Indonesian UNIFIL peacekeepers were injured in shelling targeting their unit in Adaisseh in southern Lebanon on Friday, according to a UNIFIL source speaking to Al Jazeera. Indonesia on Tuesday called for a direct UN investigation into the earlier deaths of three of its peacekeepers in Lebanon, with its UN representative saying, “We demand a direct investigation from the U.N., not just Israel’s excuses.”

• Israel admits disarming Hezbollah is “unrealistic”: Contradicting statements by Defense Minister Katz saying that Israel would not give up on disarming the resistance group, the Israeli military said its goal of disarming Hezbollah is unrealistic and not a “required goal” of the current military campaign. A senior military official quoted in multiple Israeli media outlets said to fully disarm Hezbollah would require the Israeli military to invade all of Lebanon. According to the official, the military is set to present to the political leadership its plan to establish a “security zone” in southern Lebanon, which would involve demolishing Lebanese villages near the border and setting up army posts several kilometers inside the country. The military later clarified in a statement that it was still committed to a “long-term objective” of disarming the group. Christian communities would not be demolished, the military said.

• Israel is conducting a campaign to ethnically cleanse southern Lebanon of Shia residents: The Israeli military is engaged in an attempt to ethnically cleanse the area of its Shia residents as part of its campaign in southern Lebanon. Last month, Israeli military officials called the heads of a cluster of majority Christian villages in southeastern Lebanon and ordered them to force out any “displaced people” that had taken refuge there, according to a municipal official in one of the villages who spoke to Drop Site. “Displaced people” was a thinly veiled reference to Shia residents who had been forced to flee nearby towns like Khiam. Meanwhile, the Lebanese army announced earlier this week its forces had withdrawn from southern border villages, leaving residents without even a semblance of protection. Read more the latest dispatch on southern Lebanon from Drop Site contributor Lylla Younes here.

• Hamas will not discuss disarmament unless Israeli troops agree to leave: Hamas told mediators Wednesday and Thursday in Cairo that it will not discuss laying down its arms without guarantees that Israel will fully withdraw from Gaza, according to Reuters. A Hamas delegation met with Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish mediators to deliver its initial response to a disarmament proposal presented last month—conditioning reconstruction on Palestinian disarmament—and conveyed several demands, including an end to Israeli ceasefire violations and full withdrawal from the Strip, per the ceasefire agreement. Hamas also expressed concern about Israel’s occupation of over half of Gaza. Hamas is expected to meet with mediators again next week.

U.S. News

By Julian Andreone, with Ryan Grim. Have a tip on Capitol Hill? Email Andreone at Julian@dropsitenews.com.

• Trump fires Pam Bondi: President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files release and what Trump viewed as insufficient speed in pursuing criminal cases against his critics and adversaries. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former personal lawyer to Trump, will lead the Justice Department in the interim. Bondi had been scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee on April 14. Trump is reportedly considering EPA administrator Lee Zeldin as a potential permanent replacement.

• Homeland Security shutdown extends into recess: The Department of Homeland Security shutdown—already the longest partial government shutdown on record—will continue at least until Congress returns from recess on April 14. House Republicans declined on Thursday to take up a bipartisan Senate funding bill, despite Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) endorsement. Far-right members reportedly rejected the Senate during a disorderly afternoon conference call because it omits dedicated funding for immigration enforcement. Similarly, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) formally rejected a House counterproposal to fund the entire department for 60 days. Trump appeared to relieve pressure for immediate action by Congress posting that he would use executive authority to pay Homeland Security employees, “soon.”

• Hegseth demands resignation of Army chief, two senior generals in leadership purge: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanded the immediate resignation of Army Chief of Staff General Randy George and ordered the removal of Major General William Green Jr. and General David Hodne. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said George “will be retiring from his position effective immediately,” in a statement posted on X. Hodne led the Army’s Transformation and Training Command which “unifies force design,” and William Green headed the Army’s Chaplain Corps.

• Justice Department declares Presidential Records Act unconstitutional: The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion this week declaring the Presidential Records Act of 1978 unconstitutional, finding that the law exceeds congressional authority and unlawfully intrudes on executive independence, the Washington Post reports. The memorandum, signed by Trump appointee T. Elliot Gaiser, states that “the President need not further comply with its dictates.” The opinion does not carry immediate legal weight—changing the law would require either a lawsuit or an act of Congress. A White House spokeswoman said Trump “is committed to preserving records,” though the law could leave millions of records out of public reach. Gaiser has previously provided legal justifications for lethal U.S. strikes against alleged drug traffickers in Latin America and argued that the United States could forcibly remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

• Trump imposes 100% tariff on imported brand-name drugs: President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday imposing a 100% tariff on imported patented pharmaceuticals and their associated ingredients. Companies with plans in place to build U.S. manufacturing facilities will only be charged 20% tariffs, while drugs from the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein are subject to a 15% tariff, and those from the United Kingdom are subject to an unspecified lower rate tied to a bilateral trade agreement. Generic drugs, orphan drugs, and brand-name drugs from companies that have entered Most Favored Nation pricing agreements with the administration are exempt.

• Federal inspection finds 49 violations at nation’s largest immigration detention facility: A February inspection of Camp East Montana, the nation’s largest immigration detention facility, in El Paso, Texas found 49 violations—an unusually high figure compared to a maximum of 13 found at any other facility inspected so far this year. The inspection cited the use of excessive force, the provision of medical care, security, and mental health. The facility—which houses nearly 3,000 detainees per day, the majority of whom have no criminal convictions—has recorded at least three deaths since opening last summer. Despite the 49 violations, the report rated the facility “acceptable/adequate.” Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), who has toured the facility, said the findings were “a drop in the bucket” of what is wrong there. “ICE is completely uninterested in really creating any change.”

• Los Angeles teachers and school workers inch toward strike: Nearly 68,000 Los Angeles Unified School District teachers, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, and other staff are moving closer to a joint strike set for April 14. UTLA, citing the rising cost of living in Los Angeles, is seeking an average 17% wage increase over two years, with an immediate boost for new teachers to nearly $80,000 annually. The district has countered with an 8% increase plus a one-time bonus. Union negotiators have pointed to the district’s nearly $5 billion in reserves, which officials say may be needed to offset rising budget deficits. The Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed a resolution on March 27 which noted that a first-year teacher cannot afford median rent anywhere in the city and that 65% of SEIU Local 99 members report food insecurity. Read Capital & Main’s full report here.

• ICE arrests Palestinian American community leader: Ten Muslim civil rights organizations issued a joint letter Thursday denouncing the March 30 arrest of Salah Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee and a prominent Palestinian American advocate. Sarsour, who was pulled over while driving, is a lawful permanent resident who has lived in the United States for 32 years; his wife and children are U.S. citizens. The letter said Sarsour “is being targeted on the basis of his Palestinian and Muslim background.”

Other International News

• Iraqi group claims 23 strikes on U.S. bases: The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed 23 drone and missile strikes against U.S. and allied bases in 24 hours on Thursday, targeting the American consulate in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, and Victoria Base, a major U.S. military installation adjacent to Baghdad International Airport. Strong explosions shook Baghdad, while violent explosions and sirens were reported at the American consulate compound in Erbil. Separate strikes reportedly targeted PKK and Iranian Kurdish opposition headquarters in the Koya district of Erbil province, though these strikes await verification. Drone strikes were also reported at Iraq’s Traibeel border crossing, adjacent to Jordan.

• U.S. special operations forces join Ecuador in raid of alleged drug compound: U.S. special operations forces participated alongside Ecuadorian troops in a joint raid on a coastal compound linked to Los Choneros, a powerful Ecuadorian criminal organization, CBS News reported Wednesday. The operation, dubbed Lanza Marina, targeted a site believed to serve as a staging ground for high-speed drug smuggling boats along Ecuador’s Pacific coast. U.S. forces played an advisory role, the military said. The raid is the latest example of the close security relationship between Daniel Noboa’s government in Ecuador with the U.S., which has prioritized a militarized strategy in Latin America via initiatives such as the “Americas Counter Cartel Coalition.”

• Senegal doubles prison term for same-sex relations: Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye signed legislation Wednesday doubling the maximum prison sentence for same-sex relations to ten years. In February, 12 men were arrested in Dakar under the existing law, and a local Islamic organization claimed to hold a list of 635 names of gay people it intended to use to seek the dismantling of sixteen LGBT rights groups. During a parliamentary debate, lawmaker Diaraye Ba declared that “homosexuals will no longer breathe in this country.” The Trump administration declined to comment, referring reporters to the Senegalese government, while UN human rights chief Volker Türk and UNAIDS urged Faye not to sign the bill before it passed.

• Satellite images show Chinese and Turkish combat drones at Haftar’s airbase in Libya: Satellite imagery reviewed by three independent weapons experts shows what appear to be a Chinese-made surveillance and attack drone and at least two Turkish-made drones at Al Khadim airbase in eastern Libya, Reuters reported, in an apparent violation of the UN arms embargo in place since 2011. The drones belong to eastern Libya’s military leader Khalifa Haftar, whose Libyan National Army has attempted to form a unified Libyan government and is in conflict with the Tripoli-based central government. It is also accused of supporting the RSF in neighboring Sudan, which Haftar denies.

• Chevron returns to Libya with offshore exploration deal: Chevron has signed a memorandum of understanding with Libya’s National Oil Corporation to conduct a technical study of the offshore NC 146 exploration block in the Mediterranean, the Tripoli-based NOC announced. The agreement marks Chevron’s return to Libya after more than a decade’s absence. NOC chairperson Masoud Suleiman called the deal “a message of confidence in Libya’s investment environment.” The company was also separately awarded an onshore block in the Sirte Basin, a major oil-producing region in central Libya, in February 2026.

• Russia and Ukraine trade strikes, with Kharkiv targeted: Russian forces carried out a sustained drone barrage against Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, throughout Thursday and into the early morning hours of Friday, injuring at least two people, including an eight-year-old girl, according to Reuters. Further south, a Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia damaged a high-rise apartment building and a local business with no reported injuries. Across the border in Russia’s Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said 13 people were injured in Ukrainian drone strikes, 11 of them in the village of Shebekino.

• ISIS-linked ADF kills 43 civilians in northeast Congo: At least 43 people were killed and 44 houses torched in an attack Wednesday night by the Allied Democratic Forces in Bafwakoa, in the northeastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the Congolese army. The ADF, a group led by former Ugandan rebels that has pledged allegiance to ISIS, killed some with machetes while others burned alive in their homes; two people were abducted. The territory’s administrator said search operations were continuing and the death toll could rise.

• Burkina Faso’s military killed more civilians than jihadists did, HRW finds: Burkina Faso’s military junta killed more than 1,200 civilians between January 2023 and August 2025, more than twice the number killed by militant jihadist groups during the same period, according to a new Human Rights Watch report. The figures are “most likely a gross undercount,” HRW told the AP, given widespread underreporting. Human Rights Watch accused both government forces and the Al-Qaeda-aligned group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin of war crimes and crimes against humanity, saying the targeting of Fulani civilians by government forces appears to constitute ethnic cleansing that “senior leaders on all sides may be liable” for. In one documented incident in northern Yatenga province in early 2024, government forces allegedly executed 223 civilians including at least 56 children, accusing them of collaborating with militants.

• Drone strike on Sudan hospital kills 10: A drone strike on Al-Jabalain Hospital in Sudan’s White Nile State killed at least ten people, including seven medical staff, and wounded 19 others, Médecins Sans Frontières reported Thursday. The attack hit both the operating theatre and maternity ward and was attributed to the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces. The wounded were transferred to Kosti, approximately 80 kilometers away, as aid organizations rushed emergency supplies to the region’s overwhelmed medical facilities.

• Morocco has less than two months of fuel reserves: Morocco has approximately 51 days of diesel supply and 55 days of petrol remaining, with coal and gas secured through the end of June, the country’s energy ministry told Reuters. Morocco has had no domestic refining capacity since its sole refinery shut in 2015 and relies entirely on imported fuel.

• Russia loads second oil tanker bound for Cuba: Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilyov confirmed that a second oil tanker is being loaded for shipment to Cuba, following the arrival of the sanctioned Russian vessel Anatoly Kolodkin at the port of Matanzas on Tuesday. The first shipment carried approximately 730,000 barrels of crude oil, enough to meet Cuba’s energy needs for roughly nine to ten days.

• Cuban president joins electric vehicle protest past U.S. Embassy in Havana: Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel joined activists during a Thursday protest, in which a caravan of bicycles and electric tricycles rode along Havana’s Malecón boulevard, passing the U.S. Embassy in a show of defiance against U.S. sanctions. The caravan comes on the same day that Cuba announced the release of over two thousand prisoners in what was described as a “humanitarian and sovereign gesture.”

• French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan detained in Paris over social media post: French-Palestinian Member of European Parliament Rima Hassan was taken into police custody in Paris Thursday over a March 26 post on X that French authorities allege is an “apology for terrorism.” The post quoted Kozo Okamoto—a member of the Japanese Red Army convicted for his role in a 1972 attack at Ben Gurion Airport that killed 26 people—writing that resistance to oppression “is not only a right, it is a duty.” Hassan subsequently deleted the post. The complaint was filed by National Rally’s Matthias Renault. Hassan’s party, La France Insoumise, condemned the detention. “So there is no longer parliamentary immunity in France. Intolerable,” party leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon wrote on X.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

• Pakistan plays peacemaker while bombing and blockading Afghan civilians: As Islamabad attempts a complex diplomatic maneuver on the world stage, its military is waging a campaign across its border with Afghanistan that has killed at least 212 civilians, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, with the actual toll likely significantly higher. In Nooristan’s remote Kamdesh and Barg-e Matal districts, Pakistani forces have effectively imposed a blockade by destroying the region’s only road, cutting off flour, rice, cooking oil, and medicine to thousands of civilians, Mohammad Zaman Nazari reports for Drop Site. “We left everything behind to save our children,” one fleeing resident, originally from Khost told Drop Site. “On both sides, there are Afghans. We consider them as brothers who were once separated from us. But the Pakistani army shows no mercy.” Drop Site’s report from the border provinces of Afghanistan is here.

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