Kabul, Nov 14 Three children lost their lives as an unexploded device left over from the past wars exploded in the western Afghanistan Badghis province, provincial police spokesman Sediqullah Sediqi said Friday.
The ill-fated children found a toy-like device and began playing with it, but the device suddenly exploded, killing three on the spot, the official added.
This is the second incident of its kind over the past week in the same province. A similar incident claimed the lives of two children a week ago, Xinhua news agency reported.
A total of 137 people lost their lives and more than 330 others sustained injuries following the blasts of unexploded ordnances, remnants of past wars, across Afghanistan in 2024, local media had reported.
Among the deceased, 125 children, 10 men, and two women were accounted for, while the injured comprised 264 children, 53 men, and 16 women.
Earlier in June, a child lost his life and four others were injured as an unexploded ordnance went off in east Afghanistan's Paktia province.
The incident had occurred in the Hussainkhail area of Dand Patan district, where a 12-year-old child died on the spot, and four others sustained injuries.
A month before that, two children had lost their lives as an explosive device left over from past wars went off in Qadis district of western Afghanistan's Badghis province.
Afghanistan remains one of the most heavily mine-contaminated countries in the world, as decades of war and civil unrest have left behind a deadly legacy of unexploded ordnance and landmines, posing ongoing risks to civilians, including children.
About 1,150 square kilometres of territory in Afghanistan remain polluted with landmines and unexploded explosive devices, authorities from the National Disaster Management Authority reported in April.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor