The defence ministry of Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of shooting dead five of its soldiers on their border, a day after three Armenians were killed.
Armenian "saboteurs" killed four soldiers in one incident and a fifth Azerbaijani soldier was shot dead in another, the ministry said in Baku.
There was no immediate comment from Armenia, which fought a war with its fellow ex-Soviet state in the 1990s.
Visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for restraint.
She arrived in Georgia on Tuesday from Armenia, with a visit to Azerbaijan scheduled for Wednesday.
A formal ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia since their war over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh is looking increasingly fragile.
A statement from the Azerbaijani defence ministry said an "Armenian sabotage group" had tried to enter Azerbaijani military positions at around 06:30 (0130 GMT) on Tuesday in the village of Asagi Askipara, in the Qazax district of western Azerbaijan.
"However, they sustained casualties and retreated," it said. Four Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in the fighting, it added.
The fifth Azerbaijani soldier was killed in a separate shooting incident in Qazax District, the ministry said, without giving details.
Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of killing three of its soldiers and wounding six on Monday near the villages of Berdavan and Chinar in the Tovuz district, which borders Qazax.
The Azerbaijani defence ministry denied killing the three soldiers.
The two former Soviet republics fought a bloody war over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the 1990s.
A formal ceasefire is now looking increasingly fragile.
Speaking in Armenia on Monday, Mrs Clinton said: "I am very concerned by these incidents and have called on all parties, all actors, to refrain from the use or threat of force.
"There is a danger that it could escalate into a much broader conflict that would be very tragic for everyone concerned."
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