2 children killed, 1 injured in unexploded ordnance blast in Afghanistan

At least two children were killed and another child sustained serious injuries on Saturday when one of the victims was playing with unexploded explosive ordnance (they are the military explosives that did not explode or function as intended, but if touched or disturbed, UXO can cause injury or death) in Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz.

The incident occurred when an Explosive Remnant of War (ERW) was detonated in Bagh-e-Meri, an area on the outskirts of provincial capital Kunduz city on today morning, Xinhua News Agency reported citing Obaidullah Abed from the provincial police. According to the source, one of the victims found the ERW when they were playing near a garden, and the wounded child was transported to a regional hospital for treatment.

Landmines, anti-personnel mines as well as ERW left behind from wars kill or maim about 120 people every month in the country, according to Xinhua citing Afghanistan's State Ministry for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs.

This is not the first case that took place this week, earlier, on Wednesday, four explosions rocked Afghanistan's capital Kabul and the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

At least 14 people were killed and 32 others wounded in that explosion.

This comes as Afghanistan had been hit by a series of bomb attacks reportedly launched by the Islamic State (IS) group opposing the Taliban regime.

In Wednesday's blasts, at least five worshippers were killed and 17 others wounded in Kabul after a blast ripped through a mosque during evening prayers in Police District (PD) 4.

The blast occurred when people were offering prayers in Hazrat-e-Zekria Mosque, Xinhua news agency reported.

The blast came about one hour after three consecutive explosions struck three van-buses in PD 10 and PD 5 in Mazar-i-Sharif, killing nine people and wounding 15 others, Mohammad Asif Waziri, spokesperson for the provincial police department, told Xinhua.

The targeted buses were carrying commuters along busy roads during the evening rush hour in the northern city, the capital of Balkh province.

( With inputs from ANI )