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Gunmen shoot and kill five children in eastern Afghanistan

23 January 2014 20:16 (UTC +04:00)

The causalities come after militants opened fire on a group of young men who were playing volleyball in Alingar district of Laghman Province.

There has been a surge in the number of militants’ assaults against Afghan forces and civilians in the war-torn country in recent months.

The United Nation has expressed concern over the “unacceptable” and “very worrying” rise in child casualties across Afghanistan.

UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) issued a statement in last June saying that hundreds of Afghan children were killed or wounded in 2013.

Meanwhile, Afghan officials have rejected claims that they had asked for assistance from US-led troops during an attack in the northeastern Parwan Province.

The reaction comes as the western military alliance claims it carried out the airstrike at the request of local authorities. The assault killed 14 civilians last week.

The Afghan government has on numerous occasions warned Washington to stop attacks on innocent civilians.

Civilian casualties caused by foreign forces have been a major source of tension between Kabul and Washington.

The casualties inflicted by US-led troops have sparked massive anti-US protests in the past.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across the country, despite the presence of thousands of US-led troops.