Officials say two children have been beheaded in separate incidents in Afghanistan.

In the south, authorities say the Taliban beheaded a 12-year-old boy Thursday in Kandahar province because the child's brother is a police officer. A Taliban spokesman has denied the allegation.

A spokesman for Kandahar's governor, Jawid Faisal, said Friday police found the boy's body in the Panjwai district.

In the other incident, police say a seven-year-old girl was beheaded and her legs cut off in her home in the eastern province of Kapisa. Authorities are not sure if the attack is the result of a domestic dispute or involvement by insurgents.

The killings come just days after 17 Afghan civilians were beheaded during a party in the southern province of Helmand. Afghan officials blamed the Taliban, saying Sunday's killings followed a long-standing feud between two insurgent commanders over two women. The Taliban denied involvement.