A ‘toy’ bomb exploded in the volatile northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan on Monday, killing at least three children, including two brothers.
The blast took place in Bannu's Wazir subdivision's Jani Khel area.
According to sources, three children, including two brothers, were killed in the mortar shell explosion that occurred when they were leaving the madrassa for home.
The mortar shell was lying in an abandoned area. Mistaking it for a toy, the children picked it which led to a powerful blast.
Dozens of children, mostly in northwest Pakistan, have lost their lives in the past when playing with “toys” that turned out to be explosive devices.
“Toy” bombs were airdropped in neighbouring Afghanistan by Soviet forces during the 1980s as weapons against those who opposed their invasion.
South Waziristan is also one of the seven semi-autonomous tribal areas, where the Army has for more than a decade been battling militants linked to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
The Army launched an operation in June 2014 in neighbouring North Waziristan to wipe out militant bases in the tribal areas and end an insurgency that has cost thousands of civilian lives.
Follow us
