—AFP Photo

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan: A mortar bomb blast inside a religious school in northern Afghanistan Thursday killed at least nine students, police said.

"As per initial investigation, the explosion was caused by a mortar that had somehow been carried inside the madrassa," police spokesman Khalil Asir told AFP, adding many of the dead were aged under 18.

Six students were wounded in the explosion in the Ishkamish district of Takhar province.

Provincial governor spokesman Jawad Hejri confirmed the incident and the toll.

It comes after two deadly blasts this month targeted separate mosques in Kabul.

On Friday, four people were killed when explosives detonated at a mosque in the capital during weekly prayers.

A week earlier a blast at a mosque in the heavily fortified Green Zone killed two people, including a prominent imam.

The latest bloodshed comes as the Taliban and government are preparing to launch much-delayed peace talks aimed at ending the nearly two-decade old conflict in the impoverished country.—AFP