AFGHANISTAN today accused Pakistan of launching new airstrikes against it, killing at least 13 people and wounding 14 others.

The countries have engaged in months of fighting that has killed hundreds of people.

Chief spokesperson for Afghanistan’s government, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the latest airstrikes targeted the provinces of Khost, Kunar and Paktika and killed 11 children, one woman and one elderly man.

There was no immediate acknowledgment of the strikes from Pakistan.

The strikes came a day after suspected Pakistani Taliban militants attacked a security post in the Hasan Khel area of north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, triggering an intense gun battle in which six members of the Federal Constabulary were killed and several others wounded, according to Pakistan’s Interior Ministry.

Local authorities said on Tuesday that security forces had killed eight of the attackers and thwarted an attempt to overrun the checkpoint. 

During funeral prayers, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi paid tribute to the dead and expressed condolences to their families, saying their sacrifices would not be forgotten. 

He also said Pakistan remained united in its fight against militancy and that operations against groups threatening peace and security would be intensified.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have engaged in deadly fighting since late February, when Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan.

Pakistan in February declared it was in open war with Afghanistan, following a surge in militant attacks on civilians and security forces inside Pakistan. Afghanistan has said a deadly Pakistani airstrike in March hit a drug-treatment centre in Kabul, killing more than 400 people. 

Pakistan has disputed the claim and denied targeting civilians, saying it struck an ammunition depot.

The latest development comes months after China hosted peace talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Urumqi, in northern China.

Later Beijing said Afghanistan and Pakistan had agreed not to escalate their conflict and to explore a solution.