FAIZABAD, Afghanistan, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Two children have been killed and five others injured as a mine left over from past wars went off in Afghanistan's northern Badakhshan province, head of provincial information and culture Qari Maazudin Ahmadi said Thursday.
A group of children found a toy-like device in Shahidakan village of Kasham district on Wednesday evening and began playing with it but the device suddenly exploded, killing two children on the spot and injuring five others, the official said.
A similar blast killed a mother and her five children in Afghanistan's western Ghor province on Sunday.
Afghanistan is one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world as dozens of people mostly children are killed and maimed every month due to blasts of unexploded ordnances left over from past four decades of wars and civil strife. ■