Afghanistan bomb kills two children

Two children have been killed by a bomb in eastern Afghanistan, officials said today.

The Paktika provincial governor’s office said the device was buried and the youngsters triggered the explosion while playing outside in Surobi district yesterday.

A statement said the dead children were about 12 years old, without giving their gender. Another child was seriously injured.

Last year was the deadliest on record for civilians in the Afghan war, with 3,021 killed, according to UN figures.

Taliban-affiliated militants were responsible for the vast majority of those deaths.