The Afghan government says foreign troops have dragged 10 civilians from their homes and shot them dead in the open over the weekend.

A Wednesday statement issued by the office of President Hamid Karzai said that international forces carried out the attack in the eastern province of Kunar on Saturday. Eight of the victims were schoolchildren.

Military offensives in Kunar, which borders Pakistan, are being led by US Special Forces.

The killings sparked a public outcry resulting in massive demonstrations.

In the eastern province of Nangarhar, hundreds of university students staged a protest, chanting “death to Obama” and “death to foreign forces.”

The demonstrators also torched a US flag and an effigy of US President Barack Obama.

Similar rallies took place in the capital, Kabul. The protesters called on the Afghan government to put an end to unilateral operations by western troops.

Figures released by the United Nations indicate a 10 percent rise in the civilian death toll from the US-led war in Afghanistan with a good share of fatalities caused by foreign forces.