GHALANAI: Three children, including two brothers, were injured in a landmine blast in Sagi Payan area of Safi tehsil of Mohmand tribal district on Saturday.

Officials and locals said the three children were on way to cut fodder for cattle when they were hit by a landmine blast. As a result, 10-year-old Bilal Khan, 12-year-old Iftikhar Khan and his brother Mukamil Shah, 10, were injured.

According to the hospital sources, condition of one of the injured was serious.

Later, the injured children were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar for treatment.

It is to be mentioned here that most incidents of IED and landmine blasts were reported from Safi tehsil during militancy.

Meanwhile, a child was killed while three others were seriously injured when two groups exchanged fire in Ziarat area of Safi tehsil on Saturday, residents said.

According to locals, Sobedar Safi and Fazli Rabbi exchanged fire over a land dispute. As a result, Zeeshan Khan, 12, was killed on the spot, while three others, including Fazli Rabi, Usman Khan and Shafiq, were injured. They were shifted to a major hospital in Peshawar for treatment.

After the incident, the relatives placed the body of the child on the road outside the Mohmand Press Club to protest his killing.

MNA Sajid Khan and MPA Abbas Rehman reached the spot and held talks with the protesters, assuring them that the accused would be arrested soon. Later, the protesters took away the body for burial.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2019