Kabul, Sep 30 (IANS) Three children lost their lives and one other was injured as an explosive device left over from past wars went off in Bala Khogyani district of eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, the provincial government office said in a statement.
The children found a toy-like object and began playing with it, but the device exploded on Tuesday, killing them on the spot and injuring another, according to the statement, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The war-torn Afghanistan is reportedly one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world, as the unexploded devices and mines have been left over from more than four decades of wars and civil strife in the past.
On February 17, the provincial police office said that two people were killed after an unexploded shell detonated inside a residential house in western Afghanistan’s Farah province.
The incident took place in Pusht-e-Koh district when an unexploded munition reportedly exploded after being struck inside the home. Both victims died at the scene, the statement said.
Officials have called on residents to exercise extreme caution when encountering unexploded ordnance or other suspicious objects, urging citizens to promptly inform security authorities if they come across similar materials.
On February 7, a child was killed and another injured as unexploded ordnance left over from past wars went off in the western Badghis province, said a statement from the provincial police office.
The accident occurred when the children were playing in the Sang-e-Atash area on February 7, killing one child on the spot and injuring another, the statement said.
On February 4, the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) said that at least 87 people were killed and 333 others injured in 193 incidents involving unexploded ordnance in Afghanistan over the past year, local media reported.
ANDMA Information Department Head Hafiz Mohammad Yousof Hamad said that the Mine Clearance Coordination Department and demining organisations cleared 58 kilometres of land of unexploded ordnance in 2025 and found and neutralised 24,720 mines, Pajhwok Afghan News reported.
Hamad mentioned that 67.5 per cent of the victims were children, showcasing the severe impact of unexploded ordnance on the youngest and most vulnerable population of Afghanistan. He further said that 155 demining teams are conducting work in Afghanistan, Pajhwok Afghan News reported. During the past year, these teams provided awareness training to over 2.1 million people in Afghanistan.
–IANS
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