• Source:JND
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Pakistan explosion: Five children were killed and 12 others injured when an old mortar shell they were playing with exploded in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Saturday, police said. The incident occurred in the Lakki Marwat district when a group of children discovered an unexploded mortar shell in the hills and brought it back to their village.

Children were unware of bomb: Police

According to police, the device detonated while they were playing with it, unaware that it was a bomb. Five children were killed and 12 others injured in the blast, they said. Rescue teams promptly arrived at the scene, transporting the deceased and injured to the nearby City Hospital, officials said. According to the hospital spokesperson, most of the 12 injured are children, some of whom are in critical condition.

The incident has caused widespread panic among residents. 

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According to the statement released by Bannu Regional Police Officer (RPO) Sajjad Khan, he pledged to provide all possible assistance to affected families and ensure those responsible are brought to justice, Dawn reported. RPO Khan met with relatives of the injured, assuring them of full support. Incidents of children playing with explosives, mistaking them for toys, have occurred before.

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Similiar incidents reported in past too

In 2023, nine people, including four children, lost their lives while a woman was injured when a “rocket launcher’s” ordnance exploded in a house in Sindh’s Kashmore district.
In the same year, a shepherd was killed in a grenade blast on the outskirts of Chaman when he found the hand grenade and started playing with it. Two days prior to that, three children were killed in an explosion in an abandoned compound in the same region while playing with an object they had found inside the compound.

(With inputs from agency)