2 children beheaded by militants, Afghan authorities say

Story highlights

The reported beheadings occurred in Kandahar province

The Taliban has launched a spring offensive

A coalition soldier was killed in a bombing in eastern Afghanistan

Seven people who staged an attack in Kabul have been killed

Kabul, Afghanistan CNN  — 

Taliban militants beheaded two children in southern Afghanistan, a provincial governor’s office said.

The beheadings occurred in Kandahar province, the provincial governor’s office said Monday.

One of those slain was a 10-year-old boy. The other was age 16.

A press release issued by the office said the militants caught and beheaded the 10-year-old Sunday after he had collected food waste from a trash bin in the area of a security checkpoint.

There were no immediate details about the 16-year-old.

The Taliban denied any involvement in the beheadings, according to spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi. He said Taliban fighters would never do such a thing, but said the group’s civilian casualty commission would investigate.

Insurgents have carried out frequent attacks on security forces across Afghanistan in recent months amid a spring offensive by the Taliban.

Earlier today, Taliban fighters armed with guns and explosives clashed with security forces after taking over a building near the airport in the Afghan capital of Kabul. The fighting ended with all seven attackers dead, Afghan officials said.

The Taliban said the attack was intended to target Americans in Kabul International Airport, one part of which is used by military forces and another by civilians, the officials said.

In eastern Afghanistan, a service member with NATO’s International Security Assistance Force died in a bombing on Monday, the latest in a string of coalition deaths. Eighteen coalition soldiers have died in June so far. At least nine of them are Americans.

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CNN’s Masoud Popalazi reported from Kabul, Afghanistan. Joe Sterling reported from Atlanta