JALALABAD, Afghanistan: Gunfire from Pakistani border forces killed two children in eastern Afghanistan, Afghan police said on Thursday, as sporadic cross-border fire continues to fuel tensions between the two neighbors.

Syed Tayyeb Hammad, the spokesman for Nangarhar police command, told AFP the incident occurred on Wednesday near the Torkham border crossing in Nangarhar province.

He said two other civilians were also wounded.

Two Pakistani officials stationed near Torkham told AFP on condition of anonymity that “there had been no firing in the area for the past three days.”

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been fraught since the Taliban authorities took power in 2021, and worsened after deadly border clashes in October last year that led to near-total closure of the border.

Clashes subsided after mediation, but the conflict intensified again in February this year, with Pakistan declaring “an open war” on its neighbor.

Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of allowing militants responsible for deadly attacks on Pakistani territory to operate from its soil. Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have denied the allegations.

Hundreds of civilians have been killed in fighting between the two countries since October last year, according to figures from the United Nations’ mission in Afghanistan.