Mortar mine blast leaves 2 children dead in Afghanistan

Kabul: Two children were killed as a mortar mine left over from past wars went off in Afghanistan’s eastern Wardak province, provincial police spokesman Yusuf Israr said Sunday.

The incident took place when children in Sayedabad district found a mortar mine on Saturday evening and began playing with it. The device suddenly exploded, killing two children of a family, the official told reporters.

This is the third blast of its kind, which has claimed the lives of innocent children in Afghanistan over the past six days, Xinhua News Agency reported.

A similar blast claimed the lives of two children and injured four others in the northern Jawzjan province on Tuesday, while another child lost his life and three others were injured as an unexploded mine left over from past wars exploded in southern Zabul province on Friday.

War-torn Afghanistan is reportedly one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world, as dozens of people, mostly children, are killed and maimed every month due to the blasts of unexploded devices left over from the past four decades of wars and civil strife.