In one of the most serious escalations in recent years, India launched multiple strikes on six locations across Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, killing civilians — including children — and damaging mosques, according to Pakistani officials.

The Pakistani military's spokesperson said India targeted Bahawalpur, Muridke, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Bagh and Ahmadpur East — many of them densely populated.

Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry confirmed the civilian fatalities. Among them: a 3-year-old girl in Ahmadpur East and a 16-year-old girl and 18-year-old boy in Kotli, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Another man was killed in Muridke, a city near Lahore. Dozens were wounded. Two remain missing.

The Indian army, "using different weapons, targeted six places, which left 24 impacts," Chaudhry told a pre-dawn news conference in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. The targeted places, including a mosque, were inside Pakistan as well as in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, he said.

Pakistan responded strongly, claiming to have shot down five Indian warplanes and several drones.

Below are some of the first images emerging from the aftermath of the strikes — scenes of devastation, injured locals, and shattered buildings across Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.