Three children killed in landmine explosion in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
At least three children were killed on the spot and one injured in a landmine explosion in Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, police said.
The tragic incident took place in Wanna town of South Waziristan tribal district on the third day of Eid.
The children were on their way to a volleyball match between two local teams in the Mandokai area when one of them stepped on a landmine and caused a huge explosion, a district police officer said.
Three children died on the spot and one was seriously injured. The injured child received immediate treatment at a local hospital before being shifted to a district hospital in Dera Ismail Khan.
It was not immediately clear who placed the landmines in the area. However, South Waziristan is a hotbed for militants.
In another incident, unidentified gunmen shot dead at least nine people from Punjab after kidnapping them from a passenger bus in Noshki, officials said. In another attack on a separate vehicle, one person was killed and four injured, Dawn reported.
“About 10 to 12 armed men blocked the N-40 Quetta-Taftan highway near Sultan Charhai near Noshki and abducted nine passengers from a bus,” Deputy Commissioner Habibullah Musakhel told Dawn.com.
According to media reports, armed men stopped a bus bound for Taftan, checking passengers’ ID cards before kidnapping and then killing them, he added.
DawnNewsTV reported that the bodies of the kidnapped passengers were found under a nearby bridge. It is unclear whether their belongings were taken.
According to Noshki Station House officer Asad Mengal, the nine victims were from Punjab province.
In another incident on the same highway, they opened fire on a car that failed to stop, killing one person and injuring four others. The casualties occurred due to the vehicle overturning, Station House Officer (SHO) said, according to Dawn.
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First print: April 13, 2024 | 3:33 PM IST