Some details are clouded by contradictory statements and disinformation. But a pattern of rapid escalation brought the conflict to the brink of catastrophe.

India’s missile and bomb strikes on targets in Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir have prompted multiple attacks in retaliation between the nuclear-armed neighbors to the point that some are now calling it a de facto war.

The two nuclear powers accused each other of drone attacks on military targets as tensions between these neighboring nations rise.