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Akbar Novruz

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The Pakistan military spokesperson says 228 Taliban fighters have been killed and 314 injured in the attacks.

The spokesperson added that 74 Taliban posts were destroyed and 18 captured.

Meanwhile, 27 people were injured in Pakistan.

Earlier, the Taliban government said eight of its fighters were killed and 11 wounded.

****13:35

Pakistan’s former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail says the government and Pakistani people have “nothing against the proud and poor citizens of Afghanistan”, AzerNEWS reports.

“But it is the Taliban (Afghanistan & Pakistan) who have forced Pakistan into this conflict,” he said on X.

“For the sake of innocent civilians on both sides of the border, I hope the Taliban stop with incursions into and terrorism in Pakistan.”

****12:13

The Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah ⁠Mujahid says Afghanistan carried out “large-scale offensive operations” against the Pakistani military “along the Durand Line” that separates the two countries, AzerNEWS reports.

Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry said the clashes lasted about four hours, during which light and medium weapons were used.

It added that the military operation was stopped at midnight local time by the order of the Afghan chief of staff who said the operation’s “specified objectives” were achieved.

****10:20

Pakistan launched strikes on the Afghan cities of Kabul and Kandahar in the early hours of Friday, according to Pakistani government officials, AzerNEWS reports via BBC.

A spokesperson for the Afghan Taliban said on X that it had responded with renewed attacks against Pakistani troops along their shared border - though the post has now been deleted.

Pakistani authorities said that their "counter strikes" on the Afghan cities were a response to "unprovoked Afghan attacks" - though the Afghan Taliban said those were in response to earlier Pakistani strikes.

The two countries agreed a fragile ceasefire in October after deadly cross-border clashes, but fighting has flared once again in recent days.

133 Afghan soldiers were killed, 27 military posts were destroyed, and 9 posts were captured according to the Pakistan Ministry of Defense. In contrast, the Afghanistan Ministry of Defense reported that 15 Pakistani military posts were captured.

Which areas have been targeted in the fighting?

Reports on fighting and air strike locations have not been independently verified but government accounts from both sides have provided some information.

A spokesperson for Pakistan’s PM says three main regions in Afghanistan have been targeted with air strikes: Kabul, Paktia and Kandahar.

A spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Taliban forces named the same locations in a post on X.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information also said it was also targeting Afghan Taliban forces in several districts of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province: Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram and Bajaur.

Residents in Kabul heard loud blasts across the city on Friday, AFP reported.

Both sides claim to have inflicted heavy losses on each other during recent clashes. People in Pakistan's border regions told the BBC they had heard explosions and were asked to move to safety.

Pakistan earlier said that two of its soldiers have been killed after the Afghan Taliban launched an operation against military positions along their shared border late on Thursday.

Three others were injured as Pakistani forces responded to the "unprovoked fire", Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.

The Afghan Taliban said it had launched the "large-scale" operation in response to strikes earlier this week, which it claimed had killed at least 18 people. Islamabad said it had targeted alleged militant camps and hideouts.

Taliban military spokesman Mawlawi Wahidullah Mohammadi said the "retaliatory operation" had been launched at around 20:00 local time (15:30 GMT) on Thursday.

The group's chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the offensive had killed "numerous" Pakistani soldiers and captured others.

This was denied by a spokesman for Pakistan's prime minister, who also contested Mujahid's claim that 15 military posts had been captured.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's spokesman Mosharraf Zaidi dismissed claims of damage on the Pakistani side and said all aggression would receive an "immediate and effective" response.

Mujahid wrote on X that "in response to repeated border violations and insurgency by Pakistani military circles, large-scale preemptive operations were launched against Pakistani army centres and military installations" along the border.

Pakistan's government said the Taliban had "miscalculated and opened unprovoked fire on multiple locations" across the border in its north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which had been met with an "immediate and effective response" by Islamabad's security forces.

"Early reports confirm heavy casualties on [the] Afghan side with multiple posts and equipment destroyed," said a Ministry of Information & Broadcasting statement shared on X.

"Pakistan will take all necessary measures to ensure its territorial integrity and the safety and security of its citizens."

Residents reported hearing a heavy exchange of fire along the border. Those living near Pakistan's border town of Torkham were asked to vacate the area.

Officials suspended the repatriation of deported Afghan nationals back over the border in the town due to the clashes. The crossing was also closed to Afghan refugees.

Kabul had warned of retaliatory action "at the appropriate time" following the strikes overnight into Sunday.

Islamabad had said it targeted seven alleged militant camps and hideouts near the border and that they had been launched after recent suicide bombings in Pakistan.

Kabul meanwhile said civilian homes and a religious school had been targeted, with women and children among the dead.

The exchange of fire comes despite the two countries agreeing a ceasefire in October.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share a 1,600-mile (2,574 km) mountainous border.

Official footage published by the Pakistani Ministry of Defence: