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Fourteen children were stabbed when a woman went on a knife rampage at a nursery school in China, police said.

A 39-year-old woman is said to have launched her assault on the youngsters on Friday as they returned to classes at 9.30am local time.

Footage on social media has shown hurt children loaded onto wheeled stretchers and into ambulances.

Some video appeared to show furious onlookers kicking the attacker who was restrained by school staff and security, CNN reported.

The culprit has been identified only by her surname, Liu, and there has been no motive ascertained for her assault.

The stabbings took place at Xinshiji Kindergarten in the western city of Chongqing.

All the young victims were receiving hospital treatment at Banan People's Hospital.

Details of the attack were reported by police on their force blog and a representative of the hospital referred questions to the local government.

China has suffered a number of similar incidents in recent years.

They have been blamed largely on people who were mentally ill or bearing grudges.

In June this year, a man used a kitchen knife to attack three boys and a mother near a school in Shanghai.

He killed two of the children.

Police said the assailant was unemployed and carried out the attack "to take revenge on society."

Government officials called for action and security was added at a number of schools in 2010 in response to almost 20 school children dying in knife attacks.