Afghanistan retaliated Monday with heavy fire after two Pakistani airstrikes on its territory killed at least five women and three children.
The neighboring countries have traded blame over who is responsible for a recent spate of terrorist attacks in Pakistan. Pakistan says the attacks were launched from Afghan soil; Afghanistan's ruling Taliban deny this.
"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan does not allow anyone to compromise security by using Afghan territory," Zabiullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban administration, said in a statement. The strikes killed five women and three children in the eastern border provinces of Khost and Paktika, he added.
In a separate statement, the Taliban Defense Ministry said its security forces had targeted Pakistani troops at the border in response to the airstrikes.
Pakistan's army and foreign office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported strikes, which come after unidentified militants attacked a military post in Pakistan on Saturday, killing seven security force members.
In a statement provided to state television, the Pakistani military said "a recent wave of terrorism has the full support and assistance of Afghanistan." It did not mention any airstrikes but said that Saturday's attack was carried out by militants who had "safe haven" in Afghanistan.
The Pakistani government and security officials have said repeatedly that such attacks have risen in recent months, many of them claimed by the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and launched from Afghan soil.
The Afghan Taliban has denied that it allows its territory to be used by militant groups.
"Pakistan shouldn't blame Afghanistan for the lack of control, incompetence and problems in its own territory," Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, said in the statement.
"Such incidents can have very bad consequences which will not be in Pakistan's control."
