Five people were killed and six were wounded in brief cross-border fire between Afghanistan and Pakistan on Thursday, a hospital official on the Afghan side told AFP, in an incident both countries blamed on each other.

The violence was likely to complicate ceasefire negotiations underway in Turkey, which intended to finalise a truce aimed at ending deadly clashes between the South Asian neighbours.

Security issues are at the heart of their dispute, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of harbouring militant groups, particularly the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), that launch attacks in Pakistan. The Taliban government denies these allegations.

According to the anonymous official at the Spin Boldak district hospital in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province, "five people died in today's incident --

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