A powerful roadside bomb explosion has claimed the lives of at least four children in the troubled northeastern region of Afghanistan, security sources say.

Amanuddin Qurishi, a local government official said the deadly incident took place in Kunduz Province on Wednesday, adding that at least three people were also injured in the blast.

Sources say the target of the bomb attack was a regional Afghan government official.

Children have not been spared in the ongoing violence in Afghanistan. A recent UN report shows that the death toll among Afghan civilians, especially children, has increased dramatically.

In mid-July, a bomb blast resulted in the death of at least four children in Sayed Abad District of Maidan Wardak Province. The casualties were caused after the bomb exploded near a site where children were playing.

On Wednesday, two Afghan soldiers lost their lives and three others sustained injuries in a landmine explosion in the northern part of Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul, a local official said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the two incidents so far.

Explosions caused by roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are by far the most lethal weapons Taliban militants use against Afghan forces, foreign troops and civilians.

There has been a major surge in violence across Afghanistan over the past months after Taliban militants vowed to expand attacks against Afghan and foreign forces as part of the militants’ so-called spring offensive in late April.

The Asian country continues to face violence and insecurity nearly 14 years after the US and its NATO allies invaded the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror.