LASHKAR GAH: An unexploded mortar shell killed at least five children and wounded two others when it exploded in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province on Friday, a Taliban official said.
Abdul Bari Rashid Helmandi of Helmand’s Information and Culture Department said the children, aged between three and twelve years, appeared to have discovered the shell and were playing with it in the Marja district went it suddenly went off.
A former local council member named Ahmadullah, who like many Afghans goes by one name, said the two other children were being treated in the district hospital.
Afghanistan remains highly dangerous for children, who often collect scrap metal to sell to support their families. Many are killed or maimed when they come across unexploded ordinance.