A bomb rigged to a rickshaw killed 15 children and wounded 20 others in a Taliban-controlled area in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, according to the officials.
According to the sources, the explosive was attached to a motorized rickshaw that entered Gilan district, a city in eastern Afghanistan, to sell goods. The rickshaw was surrounded by children when the blast went off, killing 15 bystanders on the spot and wounding at least 20 others. The officials in Ghazni say that death could rise further.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the officials say that investigation is underway on why the children were specifically targeted.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid in a message to the media said that the blast was caused by unexploded ordnance laid out in the region that the children had brought to the peddler. He contradicted the official death toll, putting the figure a slightly lower at 12.
The conflicting reports are hard to ascertain, as the area is under strict Taliban control and reporters are not allowed inside.
Ahmad Khan Seerat, the spokesperson for the provincial police force, confirmed the incident, adding that the Taliban were responsible for it. He said that 20 others were also wounded in the blast.
The Interior Minister Tariq Arian said that the group of children had gathered in Gilan district to recite Quranic verses, a common Friday practice in Muslim countries.
Afghani forces and the Taliban have frequently clashed in the province, where the Taliban reign. Last month, 30 security personnel were killed when a suicide car bomber struck an army base in Ghazni city.
Violence in the past few months has raised between Afghan forces and the Taliban even as the Afghan government negotiators hold talks in Qatar in an attempt to put an end to the decades of war. The talks, which started in September last year, are currently put on hold until early January.
Taliban have been accused of trying to get an upper hand in the negotiations through violence.
According to a UN mission in Afghanistan, 2100 civilians were killed and 3800 were wounded in violent attacks between January and September this year.