8 killed in Pak air strikes on Afghanistan

Afghanistan's Taliban said yesterday that Pakistan carried out two air strikes on its territory, killing five women and three children, and it fired heavy weapons at Pakistani forces along the border in retaliation.

The neighbouring countries have traded blame over who is responsible for a recent spate of Islamist militant 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.

The neighbouring countries have traded blame over who is responsible for a recent spate of Islamist militant 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.