Afghanistan's Interior Ministry on Sunday accused insurgents of killing an eight-year-old girl by giving her a bag of explosives and telling her to deliver it to the police.
As the little girl approached a police outpost in central Uruzgan province Saturday, the bag exploded, killing her.
Also Sunday, Afghan officials said the death toll from a suicide car attack on a hospital in eastern Logar province has risen to 38. Another 50 people were wounded in Saturday's blast which destroyed the building and buried people in the rubble.
The Taliban has denied responsibility for the attack. However, the group is active in the region and often carries out suicide attacks.
Separately, NATO said five of its service members were killed during operations in Afghanistan Sunday.
The coalition said roadside bombs killed two troops in western Afghanistan and another one in the south, while two soldiers died in two separate insurgent attacks in the east and south.
Meanwhile, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in a CNN television interview, welcomed U.S. plans to withdraw thousands of troops, calling the move a sign that Afghanistan is ready to start defending its own territory.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that 10,000 American troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of the year. A total of 33,000 U.S. forces will be withdrawn by September of 2012.
Some Afghans are concerned that gains made against the Taliban will be lost if foreign troops are withdrawn before Afghan forces are ready to take over security.
Latest Afghan Violence Takes Toll on Women, Children
