In southern Afghanistan, a suicide bomber rode a bicycle into a crowd of children and blew himself up Monday as NATO soldiers were handing out notebooks and pens. Four soldiers were killed and at least 24 civilians were hurt, most of them children.
NATO officials did not release the nationality of the soldiers, but Afghan officials said they were Canadians.
A purported Taleban spokesman calimed responsibility for the blast in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province.
On Sunday, NATO said its forces along with Afghan troops had forced Taleban insurgents out of Panjwai district after a two-week offensive codenamed Operation Medusa. The operation in the grape-farming district was the alliance's biggest ground offensive.
NATO commanders say more than 500 Taleban fighters were killed in southern Afghanistan over the past two weeks.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters