United States called for India and Pakistan to "exercise restraint" amid soaring tensions between the two nuclear-armed countries, while urging Islamabad to take action against militants.

"We encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday said in a statement after speaking with the foreign ministers of both countries.

Pompeo said that in talks with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, he stressed "the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action, and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil."

Indian Air Force fighter planes struck a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp across the Line of Control in Balakote, Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa early on Tuesday (Feb 26) morning, intelligence sources have said.

The IAF used Mirage-2000 jets with laser-guided bombs causing an estimated casualty of 200-300.

The Economic Times