"In retaliation for air strikes carried out by the Pakistani army on Kabul," Taliban forces are engaged "in heavy clashes against Pakistani security forces in various areas" along the border, the Afghan military said in a statement.

On Thursday, two explosions were heard in the Afghan capital and another in the southeast of the country. The following day, the Taliban-run defence ministry blamed the attacks on Pakistan, accusing its neighbor of "violating its sovereignty."

Islamabad did not confirm that it was behind the attacks, but called on Kabul "to stop harbouring the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) on its soil."

The TTP, trained in combat in Afghanistan and claiming to share the same ideology as the Afghan Taliban, is accused by Islamabad of having killed hundreds of its soldiers since 2021.

Taliban officials from the provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar, Paktia, Khost, and Helmand -- all located on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan -- confirmed that clashes were ongoing.

"This evening, Taliban forces began using weapons. We fired first light and then heavy artillery at four points along the border," a senior official in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan, told AFP.

"Pakistani forces responded with heavy fire and shot down three Afghan quadcopters suspected of carrying explosives. Intense fighting continues, but so far, no casualties have been reported," he continued.

In recent months, TTP militants have intensified their campaign of violence against Pakistani security forces in the mountainous areas bordering Afghanistan.