Nine children, eights boys and a girl ages seven to 10, have been killed after accidentally stepping on a deliberately-planted land mind on a roadside blast in north-eastern Afghanistan.
The children were on their way to school when the tragic incident happened, authorities told news agency AFP.
No one has claimed responsibility for the bomb, so far.
“At 8.30am (04:00 GMT) this morning, tragically, nine school children were martyred in a landmine blast,” Jawad Hejri, a spokesman for the Takhar provincial governor, said.
Hejri said the Taliban is responsible for the accident, saying they planted the roadside device.
The Taliban had taken control of Takhar Province for several weeks before Afghan forces recently regained control.
The Taliban has not responded to a request for comment on the incident.
Last May, a landmine killed seven children and wounded two more in the southern province of Ghazni.
In February, seven children were killed and 10 more wounded in Laghman province when a mortar shell exploded as they played with it.
The United Nations has recently reported 1,174 Afghan civilians had been killed in the three months until the end of September.
More than 3,000 people have also been injured in Afghanistan during this period, the UN reported. (Source: BBC)