Militants kill five students in Afghanistan

Militants Thursday shot dead five civilians, all students, in eastern Afghanistan's Laghman province, provincial Governor Fazlullah Mujadadi said.

"A group of students were playing volleyball in Sakhra village of Alinegar district when some armed Taliban rebels opened fire and killed five innocent students on the spot," Mujadadi told Xinhua.

The gruesome incident took place at around noon Thursday and the attackers after committing the crime made good their escape, the official said, adding operations are under way to arrest and bring to justice those behind the heinous crime.

In a similar attack, armed militants fired a rocket on a football ground in the southern Kandahar province Saturday leaving three youngsters dead and four others injured, according to local officials.