more The Holy Innocents

As big boys and nations play at war, the children are always the victims

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At least 10 Afghan civilians, mostly school children, have been killed in military operations by international forces in the east of the country, the office of Hamid Karzai, the president, has said.

The incident reportedly occurred on Sunday in a remote part of Kunar province on the border with Pakistan, the statement added.

"Initial reports indicate that in a series of operations by international forces in Kunar province... 10 civilians, eight of them school students, have been killed," the statement from Karzai's office said on Monday.

"It is a very rugged area, we cannot go there because of the presence of the Taliban," Sayed Fazlullah Wahedi, the Kunar state governor, said.

Karzai's office said that it would hold an investigation into the incident.

Nato-led forces, who are fighting Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in the country, said they would also look into the incident.

International forces have been in Afghanistan since a 2001 invasion by the US to remove the Taliban from power.