A 5-year-old child, identified as Abdul Mutalib, was killed when a mortar shell exploded in the Sayyad district of Sar-e-Pol province, Taliban police said.
The explosion took place on Thursday at 5:30 pm in Taflatun village, Taliban’s security command in Sar-e-Pol said in a statement but did not provide further information.
One source in Sar-e-Pol told KabulNow that the child belonged to a Taliban member named Qari Asif.
According to the UN, Afghanistan has one of the highest levels of explosive ordnance contamination in the world and $18.3M is needed for survey, explosive ordnance disposal, and landmine clearance in 2023.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stated that 640 children were killed or injured in 541 incidents involving landmine explosions and explosive remnants of wars (ERW) between January 2022 and June 2023.
Children have been particularly vulnerable to ERW as they unintentionally step on landmines or pick up unexploded litter around the places they stay, play, or do household chores.
