(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/121216-afg-blast-1245a.photoblog600.jpg)Noorullah Shirzada / AFP - Getty ImagesAfghan volunteers carry the body of a girl killed when in an explosion as they were collecting firewood Monday.By NBC News staff and wire reportsUpdated at 4:30 a.m. ET: A blast killed 10 Afghan girls Monday as they were collecting firewood in eastern Afghanistan, government officials said.
Follow @NBCNewsWorld (https://twitter.com/NBCNewsWorld) It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion in volatile Nangarhar province. It could have been a bomb planted by Taliban insurgents or a landmine left over from decades of conflict.
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The girls, between nine and 11 years old, were collecting wood in remote Chaparhar district, near the porous border with Pakistan, which is infested with some of the world's most dangerous militant groups.
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