Four Afghan children were killed on Friday when a bomb exploded as they played near their home in Nangarhar province, officials said.
The blast is the latest reminder of the high death toll suffered by civilians in the current war since the 2001 US-led invasion ousted the Taliban from power.
“Four chidren were killed and six others were slightly injured as a result of roadside bomb explosion,” said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar. “The incident took place around 9:30 am.”
But the interior ministry said the explosion was caused by a mortar apparently left over from Afghanistan’s decades of war.
Afghanistan faced years of conflict before 2001 and explosive devices dating from this period regularly cause deaths and injuries, often to curious children.
