KABUL/ISLAMABAD, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The Afghan Taliban "successfully conducted" air strikes using drones to hit military targets in Pakistan, its defence ministry and a government spokesperson said on Friday, as fighting between the neighbours continued.

Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Pakistani Taliban militants had tried to use drones against targets in Pakistan but they were brought down by anti-drone systems and there was "no damage to life".

TUNIS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Former Tunisian prime minister Ali Larayedh was sentenced on Friday to 24 years in prison on charges of facilitating Tunisian jihadists’ travel to Syria over the past decade, state media said.

His party, the Islamist opposition Ennahda, says the case is politically motivated and part of a crackdown on dissent following President Kais Saied's seizure of broad powers in 2021, when he dissolved parliament and began ruling by decree.

Larayedh served as prime minister from 2013 to 2014 during a turbulent period following Tunisia’s 2011 revolution.

JERUSALEM, February 27 (Reuters) - Israel has multi-layered air defences against attacks by Iranian ballistic missiles, an umbrella it may need to lean on as the United States and Iran teeter toward potential military conflict that could draw Iranian attacks on Israeli territory.

Here are details of Israel's defences against drones and missiles:

ARROW

By Emma Farge

GENEVA, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk on Friday called for an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty in Iran, warning that dozens more people risk execution after the first death sentence linked to January mass protests was issued this week.

"I am horrified by reports that at least eight people, including two children, have been sentenced to death in connection with the protests," Turk said in a speech to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, adding that another 30 people appeared to be at risk of the same sentence.

President Donald Trump on Friday voiced frustration with Iran's stance in nuclear negotiations as US staff left Israel due to safety concerns -- but mediator Oman promoted what it said was a "breakthrough" to avert war.

Trump has ordered the biggest military build-up in decades in the Middle East, with the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, approaching the coast of Israel, as he demands Iran agree to sweeping concessions on concerns starting with its nuclear program.

MOSCOW, Feb 27 (Reuters) - In sub-zero temperatures outside Moscow, teams of husky dogs pull tourists from Oman and the United Arab Emirates across picturesque snow-covered fields in sleds, delighting their passengers who have never experienced a Russian winter before.

Nearby, a couple from Qatar feed a small herd of deer and other tourists from the Middle East drive a hovercraft at high speed across a snowy lake.

By Jonathan Landay, Humeyra Pamuk and Gram Slattery

WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran will soon have a missile that can hit the United States is not backed by U.S. intelligence reports, and appears to be exaggerated, according to three sources familiar with the reports, casting doubt on part of his case for a possible attack on the Islamic Republic.

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Cross-border fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan intensified overnight, with both sides claiming heavy losses and the Pakistani defence minister saying his country was in an "open war" with its neighbour.

As tensions persist, here is a look at how Pakistan dwarfs Afghanistan's military forces and arsenals, according to data from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

OVERVIEW

ISLAMABAD, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Friday that the country was in an "open war" with neighbouring Afghanistan, declaring that Islamabad's patience had run out as tensions escalated overnight, with both sides reporting heavy losses.

"Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you (Afghanistan)," he said.

(Reporting by Asif Shahzad, writing by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran will soon have a missile that can hit the United States is not backed by U.S. intelligence reports and appears to be exaggerated, according to three sources familiar with intelligence reports, casting doubt on part of his case for a possible attack on the Islamic Republic.