Afghanistan Peace Campaign
An explosion in Afghanistan’s Paktika province killed seven people, including five children, and injured four others, officials said.
At least seven people, including five children, were killed and four others injured after an unexploded artillery shell detonated in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province, local Taliban authorities said on Tuesday.
The blast occurred on Monday evening in the village of Dangar Lagad in Barmal district, according to a statement from the Taliban police command in Paktika.
Authorities said the explosion happened when a local resident collecting scrap metal attempted to open the shell and reuse it as a metal tool. The device exploded, killing two adult men and five children at the scene.
The injured were transferred to nearby hospitals for treatment, officials said.
The incident highlights the continuing danger posed by unexploded ordnance left behind by decades of conflict in Afghanistan, where civilians, particularly children remain among the most vulnerable victims.
According to Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority, at least 87 people were killed in explosions and other incidents involving landmines and unexploded munitions during the last solar year. The agency recorded 193 such incidents across the country during the same period.
Reports said 333 people were also injured in mine- and ordnance-related incidents, with children accounting for roughly 67% of all casualties. Humanitarian organizations have repeatedly warned that unexploded weapons continue to threaten communities, especially in rural areas where residents often collect scrap metal to support their livelihoods.
Mine-clearing agencies have urged greater public awareness and increased funding for demining operations, warning that millions of Afghans still live in areas contaminated by explosive remnants of war. Afghanistan remains one of the countries most heavily affected by landmines and unexploded ordnance, despite years of clearance efforts.