India-Pakistan Ceasefire

India and Pakistan agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire Saturday. Despite violations yesterday, the ceasefire remains in effect as of this writing, alleviating some of the worst hostilities between the two countries in roughly 50 years.

The ceasefire ended four days of air fighting in which India is believed to have lost at least two of its most advanced fighter jets, Pakistan lost control of its airspace, and dozens of people were killed in gunfire and airstrikes. The exact toll could not be immediately determined; India and Pakistan have disputed each other's accounts. The air battle, which began May 7, is believed to have been among the largest dogfights since World War II.

The violence stems from an April 22 attack in which at least four gunmen killed 26 people, most of them Indian tourists, in the Indian-controlled region of Kashmir. India blames Pakistan for harboring terrorists. See a history of India and Pakistan's longstanding dispute over Kashmir here.