Indonesian officials have defended a street parade that involved veiled nursery-age children carrying replica weapons.

Police say they will arrest the person who uploaded a viral video of the event to Facebook.

The video of children dressed head-to-toe in black marching with wooden guns has caused a sensation in Indonesia.

In May the country suffered one of its worst attacks in years when militants used their children as suicide bombers in the second-largest city, Surabaya.

The parade was one of the thousands held across Indonesia on Friday to mark independence.

Probolinggo police chief Alfian Nurrizal told The Associated Press they were investigating who uploaded the video.

He said it may have been edited to convey the wrong impression.

Local media reported that education minister Muhajir Effendy said the parade was misinterpreted.