Artillery shells fired from Pakistan gave a horrible scare to NATO and Afghan forces in eastern Afghanistan, causing NATO forces to return fire.
"An ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) forward operating base and an Afghan National Army compound in northeastern Paktika province were attacked with indirect fire from across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border today," an NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said Saturday in a statement.
No casualties were reported from the incident, which saw three shells land near an ISAF base and three inside an Afghan army compound.
"ISAF forces determined the origination of the rounds to be in Pakistan and returned artillery fire in self-defence," ISAF said.
Pakistan's military was notified immediately after the coalition forces came under fire, it said.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan are strained on the issue of border security, with Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai accusing his neighbour of doing too little to rein in Islamist militants.
Seven coalition soldiers killed
In other developments, NATO said two roadside explosions killed a total of five foreign soldiers.
The Canadian military said no Canadian troops were involved in Saturday's incidents. NATO officials said an attack on a convoy near Kandahar killed four coalition soldiers. Two others were wounded, one seriously injured.
The nationalities of the victims, who were involved in Afghan security training, have not been identified, which is NATO's practice.
Coalition spokesperson Lt. Col. Paul Fanning said insurgents shot at the convoy vehicles after the explosion. Three Afghans were also hurt in the incident.
A separate incident involving an improvised explosive device in Paktika province ended with the death of a Polish soldier. Officials said the bomb struck his patrol. Several other coalition soldiers were also hurt, but none of their injuries is life-threatening.
Also on Saturday, a roadside bomb claimed the lives of two Afghan army troops in Zabul province. Police said three others were injured when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle.
NATO and U.S. soldiers have had several clashes with Taliban fighters since a prison break in Kandahar on June 13 freed as many as 400 insurgents.
The allies mounted a major offensive against the Taliban on Wednesday after insurgents seized the fertile, strategically important, Arghandab valley, located about 20 kilometres northwest of Kandahar.
Hundreds of militants, including some who escaped during the jailbreak, took up positions in a cluster of villages, officials said. More than 50 Afghan fighters and two Afghan soldiers died in that operation, according to the country's defence ministry.
The Taliban's advance on the region was seen as worrisome because it could be used as a springboard to attack Kandahar City. Taliban insurgents have stepped up efforts over the past year against Afghanistan's pro-Western government.
According to The Associated Press, 106 foreign troops have died in Afghanistan this year. More than 30 foreign soldiers have been killed this month alone.
Canada hasn't suffered a military death since June 7. Eighty-four soldiers and one diplomat have died in Afghanistan since 2002.
With files from The Associated Press
