Thai and Cambodian troops have clashed with gunfire and artillery shells, shattering a two-month lull in long-standing tensions over their disputed border.

The fighting broke out near Ta Muean Tom temple on the border in Pa Nom Dong Rak district of Thailand's Surin province on Friday.

Three Thai soldiers were killed, and 13 wounded, in the clash, Lieutenant-Colonel Siriya Khuangsirikul, a Thai military spokeswoman, said.

Lieutenant-General Chhum Socheat, a Cambodian defence ministry spokesman, said that three of his country's soldiers had been killed in the clash, and several others were wounded.