Three children have been killed and seven others wounded when two roadside mines exploded in residential areas in Afghanistan’s southern Ghazni Province.

Arif Noori, spokesman for the governor of Ghazi, said on July 6 that the two separate incidents occurred on the same day in the remote Gilan district.

Children were playing when an explosive device went off, killing three and wounding four children around midday in Gilan’s Shinkai area, district chief Mohammad Karim Gilanwal said.

He said the wounded children were in critical condition and taken to Ghazni provincial hospital.

An earlier blast occurred in Gilan’s Zabit Qala area wounded three children, aged between 10 and 15, Afghan media reported.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts, but Ghazni officials blamed them on Taliban militants.

Antigovernment groups frequently use roadside bombs and suicide attacks to target officials and security forces across Afghanistan.

In a separate incident in Ghazni, two national police officers were killed and four others were wounded in overnight Taliban attacks on security posts.

Based on reporting by AP, pajhwok.com