"Five mortar shells fired from the Afghan side landed in Teti Madakhel village," in the Mir Ali district of North Waziristan region late Thursday, a military official said.
He said the mortars hit houses located just three kilometres (two miles) from the border.
"As a result, five civilians -- three women and two men -- were killed and six injured," he said.
The injured were confirmed by a doctor at the nearby state-run hospital in Mir Ali.
Intelligence officials in the region`s main town Miranshah confirmed the mortar attack and said it came from the neighbouring Afghan province of Khost.
Both Taliban and NATO forces use mortars as part of combat operations.
A NATO spokesman in Kabul said it had received no reports of coalition forces firing mortars in the area.
"We have checked with all of our units operating in that area and there was no mortar fire," the alliance force said in an emailed statement.
Washington has branded North Waziristan region an Al-Qaeda headquarters and hub for militants fighting NATO-led troops in Afghanistan, and it wants the Pakistan army to launch a ground offensive in the district. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
