Pakistani security forces have killed several Afghan Taliban fighters in an exchange of fire along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, according to Pakistani security sources.

The clashes occurred in the Gulistan area on Friday, with sources describing the incident as an "attempted Afghan aggression" that was foiled by Pakistani forces. Fighting was reported to be ongoing. There has been no official confirmation from either country.

The border violence follows a series of escalating incidents between the two neighbours. On Thursday, Pakistan carried out aerial and drone strikes on 10 locations inside Afghanistan, according to Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, who said the strikes targeted Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces.

Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes were a response to a "deliberate and unlawful incursion into Pakistan by drones" on Wednesday. Tarar said Pakistan's aerial and drone attacks hit "terrorist hideouts and support infrastructure including drone launching and storage sites." He also posted a video said to show the military strikes on the Afghan sites.

Taliban officials denied that their government launched drones against Pakistan on Wednesday.

Following the Pakistani strikes, Afghanistan's government said it would deliver an "appropriate response." The Afghan government has consistently denied harbouring anti-Pakistani armed groups, saying cross-border attacks are Pakistan's internal problem.

Islamabad, for its part, accuses Kabul of sheltering fighters who stage attacks inside Pakistan. The dispute triggered the two countries' worst fighting in years in February.

The latest escalation threatens mediation efforts by China, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which have been working to broker a lasting peace between the two neighbours.