NATO forces kill 9 Afghan children

Nine Afghan boys were killed while collecting firewood on Tuesday in what has been described as one of the worst cases of mistaken identity by the International Security Assistance Force.

NATO issued a statement Wednesday apologizing for the killings in Darah-Ye Pech district in Afghanistan's Kunar province. The victims were aged nine to 15 and included two sets of brothers. A tenth boy was injured but survived the aerial attack by helicopter gunners.

The boys had apparently been collecting wood to heat their mountain homes, the New York Times reported.

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Two children killed every day in Afghanistan

At least two children lost their lives every day in the Afghan conflict in 2010, a rights group said Wednesday, blaming the Taliban-led insurgents for two thirds of the deaths.

'About 739 children lost their lives in the conflict-related security incidents in Afghanistan from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2010,' said the Afghanistan Rights Monitor (ARM), an independent group that has been conducting annual reports on civilian casualties since 2008.