7 Afghan children die while playing with rocket tip in day of violence

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- At least seven children died on Wednesday in Kabul, Afghanistan, when a rocket tip they were playing with exploded.

The children were aged from 10 to 14. Several others were injured. They were playing with the head of an abandoned rocket by wrapping it up in a cloth and throwing it before it exploded, Kabul police Chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi told CNN.

Meanwhile, three people died when a pressure-cooker explosive detonated near a Kabul roundabout. Ahmad Saeed, an Afghan political analyst, was shot by unknown gunmen. No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing or shooting.

On Tuesday, at least six civilians were killed in two separate explosions in the capital of Afghanistan, while fighting erupted between security forces and the Taliban in Kunduz province.

Also on Tuesday, a helicopter carrying Afghans and foreigners crashed in an area controlled by the Taliban. The militant Islamist group said three soldiers died and 15 were captured, including two Americans. The Taliban's claims have not been verified yet.

Zulmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, on Tuesday told Afghan media the security situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated since last year and that "the country would fail to grapple with these challenges" if support from the United States waned.

Continued violence in Afghanistan has contributed to a migrant crisis in Europe, as Afghans flee their country to seek protection within the European Union. Most migrants traveling to the EU come from Syria, but many also travel from Iraq and Eritrea.