Mortar Warhead Explosion in Afghanistan Kills Three Children

Local authorities confirmed on Tuesday the death of three children in Samangan province in northern Afghanistan from the explosion of a mortar head left over from the war.

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The children (two boys and a girl) died on the spot while playing in Jangal village in Dara-e-Suf Payan district on Monday. They mistook an explosive remnant of war for a toy, district director Mawlawi Shamsullah Shamshad has said.

According to the official, two other children (boys) were injured when the mortar shell exploded. All the children involved in the tragic incident were under the age of 10.

Last week, on July 12, two children were killed in a similar incident in Achin district in eastern Nangarhar province.

Local media reported that earlier this month, at least three children were killed, and three others injured when a mine exploded in Afghanistan's Faryab province in the Khwaja Sabz Posh region.

Afghan people are regularly exposed to fatal or serious injury from landmines or other unexploded weapons that have not been fully cleared after four decades of conflict. Children are particularly vulnerable to these dangers, and the number of casualties continues to rise.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, between January 2022 and June 2023, a total of 640 children were killed or injured in Afghanistan due to the explosion of mines and explosive materials left over from the war.