Four teenagers killed in old mortar shell blast in NW Pakistan

Peshawar, Sep 27 (PTI) At least four young boys died and two were critically injured as an old mortar shell exploded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan on Saturday, district officials said.

The incident occurred in Lagharai village of Mamond tehsil of restive Bajaur district, bordering Afghanistan, where local residents said the victims had inadvertently come across the unexploded device.

Authorities noted that Bajaur, which lies along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, has for years remained littered with unexploded ordnance remnants of past conflicts and military operations in the tribal districts.

Such incidents have repeatedly endangered local communities, particularly children who often mistake the dangerous devices for harmless objects.

According to District Police Officer Waqas Rafique, those killed in the blast on Saturday include two 18-year-olds, one 15- and one 13-year-old boy.

The two injured were airlifted by Pakistan Army helicopters to Peshawar for emergency medical treatment, officials said.

Security personnel have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to locate and defuse other possible unexploded shells to prevent further casualties. PTI AYZ NPK NPK