Children among 11 killed in blasts, clashes

JALALABAD/SHARAN (PAN): Nearly a dozen people, including three children, have been killed in separate incidents in eastern Nangarhar and southeastern Paktika provinces, officials said on Thursday.

Eight insurgents and the son of a tribal elder were killed during a clash between the rebels and Afghan security forces in the Manakhel village of Sherzad district in Nangarhar late on Wednesday.

The district chief, Shukrullah Durrani, told Pajhwok Afghan News the clash broke out after some Afghan and Pakistani Taliban surrounded the village to attack Afghan forces. The attackers were beaten back.

A resident of the area, Rafique, said about 20 insurgents were killed and wounded during the firefight and some dead bodies of the fighters still lay at the scene. Around 500 insurgents, who surrounded the village, were pushed back as locals joined the security forces.

In Paktika, three policemen were injured as a result of a blast in Argon district early on Thursday. The crime branch police chief said the explosives had been placed in a box in front of a school student. The box went off as police started checking it.

The wounded policemen were taken to the district hospital, where an official said one of them was in critical condition.

Dr. Rahim Shah said one child was killed and four others sustained injuries in a traffic accident. They were under medical treatment at the hospital.

One child died and two others were injured when a mortar shell exploded in the Omni district of the province. Eyewitness Dad Mohammad said the children were playing with the device when it went off.

Police chief Brig. Gen. Dawlat Khan Zadran confirmed the blast, saying the children had no idea they were playing with an explosive device.

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