Three Afghan children were killed as insurgents opened fire in Afghanistan's Faryab province on Tuesday, the ISAF said.

"An insurgent killed three children and wounded four women in Faryab," a statement released by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) here asserted.

The casualties, according to the statement, took place during a joint Afghan and NATO-led forces operation in Bal Chiragh district of Faryab province, 425 km northwest of Afghan capital Kabul Tuesday morning.

It also emphasized that several insurgents had been killed during the operation.

"Afghan and coalition combined forces killed several insurgents during a security operation in Bal Chiragh district, Faryab province, today," the statement added, without giving the exact number of those killed during the operation.

Taliban militants fighting Afghan and NATO-led forces have yet to make comment.

Civilians often bear the brunt of conflicts in Afghanistan as 2, 777 non-combatants, according to a UN report, were killed in insurgency and counter-insurgency operations in the conflict- ridden country in 2010.