Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has blamed religious schools in neighboring Pakistan for inciting violence in his country, as heavy fighting and a suicide bombing in Afghanistan leaves more than 100 people reported killed.

The dead included a Canadian woman army officer and a U.S. anti-narcotics agent, officials said.

The latest violence in Afghanistan comes as NATO prepares to take over security operations from the U.S.-led coalition, which has been hunting for militants in the region since the 2001 ouster of the al Qaeda-linked Taliban regime.

Karzai said the violence emanated from the border tribal regions of neighboring Pakistan, The Associated Press reported.

These areas are populated by ethnic Pashtuns, who make up the majority of the Taliban militants and are believed to be hiding al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

"We have credible reports that inside Pakistan, in the madrassas, the mullahs and teachers are saying to their students: 'Go to Afghanistan for jihad. Burn the schools and clinics,"' Karzai said, according to AP.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Tasnim Aslam, called the allegations "baseless," AP reported.

"We have denied them repeatedly," she said.

Canadian Captain Nichola Goddard, 26, was killed as fighting raged overnight Wednesday and early Thursday between Taliban militants and Afghan and coalition forces in the country's troubled southwestern provinces.

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