Nine children were killed when a bomb exploded in northern Faryab province late Friday, officials said.

Axar.az reports citing Daily Sabah.

The incident which took place in Sherin Tagab district, left four others wounded, a provincial council member, Nadir Saeedi, said.

Another provincial council member, Mohammad Arif, put the casualty toll at eight dead and five injured.

The bomb was planted near a security checkpoint to target security forces, the two officials said. The officials blamed Taliban militants for the incident.

The militants did not immediately comment on the issue.

A total of 10,453 civilian casualties - 3,438 people killed and 7,015 injured - were documented in 2017, United Nations' Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said in a report in February.

Although this figure represents a decrease of nine percent compared with 2016, the report highlights the high number of casualties caused by suicide bombings and other attacks using improvised explosive devices.