7 children injured in Uruzgan mortar shell explosion

TIRINKOT (Pajhwok): Seven children have been injured in a mortar shell explosion in the Chora district of central Uruzgan province, an official said on Wednesday.

A relative of the children Niamatullah told Pajhwok Afghan News the unexploded shell went off as the children played with it. He said five children sustained injuries in the blast.

But public representative Hayatullah Faizi said seven children were injured in the explosion.

A doctor at the provincial civil hospital, Aminullah Tokhi, said two children had been brought to hospital from the blast site and their condition was critical.

Separately, one militant was killed and five others were wounded during a clash with security forces in the district, the 205^th Atal Military Corps said in a statement.

Three motorcycles and a vehicle belonging to rebels were also destroyed during the firefight. There has been no word so far from the Taliban.

sa/mud