JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel was investigating a fresh outbreak of avian flu after 18 contaminated birds were found dead on Thursday at a kindergarten in a coastal town in the north of the country.

"This morning, 18 ducks, chickens and pigeons were found dead among a total of 25 birds held in a petting corner in a kindergarten in Binyamina," an agriculture ministry spokesman told AFP.

Tests discovered the presence of the H5 virus category, which only kills birds, unlike the highly pathogenic H5N1 sub-type of the virus that is dangerous to humans.

Experts were examining the infected birds to see if they had been infected with the H5N1 strain.

Authorities have banned the transportation of animals in a three-kilometre (two-mile) radius around Binyamina, a coastal town north of Tel Aviv, in a bid to prevent the spread of the virus, the agriculture ministry said in a statement.