Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday released eight children groomed by Taliban insurgents to become suicide bombers.

Mr. Karzai greeted the group of boys, including a seven-year-old, during a ceremony at the presidential palace in Kabul.

He said five of the children would be released to their parents, another two would be placed in foster homes, and the last child would not return to his family.

The eight children are among 20 youths detained after they were recruited to carry out suicide bombings.

The Associated Press reported that the remaining 12 would return to their homes after education and reintegration programs.

In violence Tuesday, NATO said one of its service members died in a bomb blast in southern Afghanistan.

NATO also said combined Afghan and coalition security forces killed more than 10 insurgents and detained nine others during overnight searches targeting Haqqani network cells in central and eastern Afghanistan. The network is affiliated with al-Qaida and the Taliban.