Mortar shell explosion kills scrap dealer, child

4 other children also suffer critical injuries in S Waziristan

WANA/ MIRANSHAH:

Three people were killed and four injured in two different incidents in North and South Waziristan tribal districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) on Thursday.

Police told The Express Tribune that a mortar shell exploded inside a scrap shop in main Wana Bazaar in South Waziristan. As a result the shop owner was killed on the spot and five children sustained injuries. They were rushed to the nearby hospital where one child also succumbed to his wounds.

“This man had bought a scrap mortar shell and was busy trying to break it when it suddenly exploded, killing him on the spot and injuring five of his child servants,” said a police official, adding that one child died at the hospital while condition of others is stated to be critical.

“All the four children are under treatment at District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) Wana,” he added.

Such incidents are almost a routine in the tribal districts as metals are brought from Afghanistan including fired mortar shells and artillery rounds but these rounds often contain explosives.

“It is necessary to break these shells into pieces and make bundles of them to save space and during this process shells and artillery rounds often explode when hit with hammers,” said the police official, adding that no terrorism was involved and it was just an accidental explosion.

In a separate incident the headless body of an army man was found on the bank of River Tochi, North Waziristan. His brother told police that Aianullah was posted at Punjab First Light in Kashmir and he was currently on leave.

“Last night someone called him on his mobile and then he left. In the morning the family started looking for him when he didn’t attend his phone and found his body dumped on the bank of Tochi River. The head had been severed from the body,” said a police official, adding that the body was sent to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) for autopsy. It was later handed over to the family for burial.

“We are investigating the matter from all angles. It looks like a terrorism incident but investigation is underway,” said the official. Terrorism incidents are on the rise once again in the two tribal districts.

On Sunday four active members of Youth of Waziristan, a local welfare organization, including its general secretary were killed when unidentified miscreants opened fire at their motorcar on the outskirts of Mir Ali.

They were on their way back from a lunch when their vehicle was intercepted and sprayed with bullets by two bike riders who managed to escape after committing the crime.

One year ago the founding president of YoW, Noor Islam Dawar was gunned down in a similar manner along with the spokesperson of the organization Musawar Dawar.

YoW was formed after Operation Zarb Azb in Waziristan.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2022.