UN chief 'outraged' by Afghan attacks

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is "outraged" by attacks in Afghanistan that killed dozens of people including children and journalists, his office said Monday.

"The attacks in Kabul and Kandahar caused numerous casualties among civilians, emergency responders, and school children," the UN chief said, according to the statement released by his spokesman.

A double suicide blast in Kabul killed 25 people, including AFP's chief photographer in Kabul, Shah Marai, and at least eight other journalists, in what Reporters Without Borders said was the most lethal single attack on the media since the fall of the Taliban.

Later Monday, the BBC confirmed that one of its reporters, 29-year-old Ahmad Shah, was killed in a separate attack in eastern Khost province, near the border with Pakistan. The broadcaster did not immediately give further details.

"The deliberate targeting of journalists in the attack highlights once again the risks media professionals face in carrying out their essential work," Guterres said.

"Those responsible for such crimes must be swiftly brought to justice."

Eleven children were meanwhile killed and 16 others wounded, including Romanian and Afghan security force members, when a suicide attacker exploded his car near a NATO convoy in the southern province of Kandahar, officials said.