12:10/20:04:2010

At least three schoolchildren and one prison police were shot dead as foreign troops opened fire on a civilian vehicle in southeastern Khost province, officials said Tuesday.

The deadly incident took place Monday evening when a civilian vehicle was travelling from the provincial capital, Khost city, to the Gurbuz district in the province, a spokesman for the foreign forces in Khost told Pajhwok Afghan News.

The spokesman for NATO forces in Khost said the soldiers opened fire on the vehicle after it the Afghan driver failed to stop the car, despite receiving multiple warning signals.

A judge at the provincial court, Rahmatullah Mansoor, said two of the shot dead students were his sons and the other schoolchild was his nephew. The fourth casualty was a police at the local prison.

Judge Mansoor said his sons were on their way to the Gurbuz district to attend a volleyball match there.

Civilian casualties have become a friction point between President Hamid Karzai and Washington, as Afghan officials argue that such 'mistakes' undermine the US-led campaign in Afghanistan.