Thai fighter jet bombs Cambodian targets as border battle escalates

• Thailand says F-16 deployed for precision strike on target
• Cambodia condemns Thai ‘aggression’, calls for UN meeting
• US calls for immediate end to hostilities
• Clash follows downgrade in diplomatic ties over landmines
• At least 11 civilians, 1 soldier killed in Thailand

BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH, July 24 (Reuters) – Thailand scrambled an F-16 fighter jet to bomb targets in Cambodia on Thursday after artillery volleys from both sides killed at least 11 civilians, as border tension boiled over into rare armed conflict between the Southeast Asian countries.

Both blamed each other for starting a morning clash at a disputed area of the border, which quickly escalated from small arms fire to heavy shelling in at least six locations 209 kilometres (130 miles) apart along a frontier where sovereignty has been disputed for more than a century.

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