A Pakistani paramilitary soldier was killed and seven others wounded in cross-border exchanges of fire with Afghanistan’s forces, a security source said yesterday, while hundreds of Afghans protested against the deadly air strikes that sparked the clashes.

Pakistan air strikes in an eastern border region of Afghanistan killed 46 civilians, the Taliban government said Wednesday, whilst a Pakistan security official said the bombardment had targeted "terrorist hideouts".

Officials say rare Pakistani airstrikes have targeted multiple suspected hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban inside neighboring Afghanistan, dismantling a training facility and killing some insurgents.