Two Afghan children were killed and another seriously wounded in two separate incidents involving unexploded ammunition, international peacekeepers in the capital Kabul, said today.
Major Mike Edwards, spokesman for International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), said that two children died when a mortar bomb they picked up in the east of the city went off.
In a separate accident yesterday a child had his hand blown off by a butterfly mine, Maj Edwards told a news briefing.
ISAF soldiers said there were thousands of pieces of unexploded ordnance in and around the capital which posed a danger to anyone, especially children unaware of the risks.
Afghanistan is one of the world's most heavily mined countries after 23 years of occupation and civil war, and mine clearing agencies can be seen picking slowly through affected areas across the war-ravaged state.
ISAF, numbering 4,800 troops, helps Afghan police secure the streets of the capital and has bomb disposal experts who help deal with unexploded ordnance.
Edwards also said a group of 30 Azeri troops were expected in Kabul later today, taking the total number of countries in ISAF to 22.