At least three children were killed in two explosions of unexploded ordnance in the central province of Ghazni and in the northeastern province of Badakhshan over the past 24 hours, confirmed Taliban officials.
One incident happened in Chahar Dara village in Waez district in Ghazni province on Wednesday evening when a group of children found an unexploded ordnance, took it home where it exploded and killed one child and wounded five others, including a woman, said Rasul Khan Nazari, Taliban’s head of public health directorate in Ghazni.
The wounded were taken to a hospital in Ghazni province and are under treatment, he said, adding that all victims are members of one family.
He said two children are in critical condition but three others including their mother are recovering well.
Meanwhile, in a similar incident, officials said two children were killed in an explosion of unexploded ordnance in Badakhshan province on Wednesday.
The blast happened when an unexploded ordnance that children took home exploded when they were playing with it.
Five other children from the same family were wounded in the incident that happened in Tagab district, Badakhshan province, according to Taliban officials.
Unexploded ordnance has often killed and wounded hundreds of people in Afghanistan over the past years.
Taliban’s Directorate of Mine Action Coordination said in October 2022 that the civilian casualties due to explosive ordnance have increased in recent months.
According to the directorate, more than 500 people were killed or wounded in these incidents from March 2021 to March 2022.
