KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Three children have been killed and three others injured after a war remnant exploded in Afghanistan’s central Ghazni province, local sources said.
The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon, August 8, in the Naw’i area near Ghazni city, according to local sources.
A source said the children had found a rocket warhead in an open, undeveloped area and were playing with it when it exploded. Two of those killed were brothers, aged between 10 and 15, the source added.
The injured children were taken to a local health facility for treatment.
Decades of war have left large parts of Afghanistan contaminated with landmines and explosive remnants of war, posing a persistent threat to civilians, particularly children.
According to the United Nations, approximately 3.3 million people in Afghanistan live within one kilometer of areas contaminated by landmines and explosive remnants of war. UNAMA has stated that Afghanistan ranks as the third deadliest country in the world in terms of casualties caused by landmines and unexploded ordnance.
Afghanistan’s disaster management authority, currently under Taliban control, says that at least 87 people have been killed and 33 injured by mines and explosive materials over the past year, with children making up the majority of victims.
The UN says that in 2025 alone, 471 civilian casualties were recorded as a result of landmines and explosive remnants of war. Children accounted for 67 percent of those casualties, with boys making up the overwhelming majority of child victims.
Human rights groups and international organizations have repeatedly warned that without large-scale clearance operations and public awareness campaigns, civilians—especially children—will continue to pay the price for Afghanistan’s long-running conflicts.
