Three kids killed in Bannu after mistaking mortar shell for toy

Three children were killed when an unexploded mortar shell they had mistaken for a toy detonated in the Jani Khel area of Bannu.

According to the police, the mortar shell exploded after the children, identified as Zeeshan, Wahab, and Alam Zeb, picked it up and began playing with it, Express News reported.

The children, all students at a local madrassa, were playing near the Sin Tangah Nala when they discovered the discarded shell, which later exploded.

In a statement, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi expressed deep sorrow over the children's deaths. He offered condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for patience, saying that he shares in the grief of the mourning families.

Eight terrorists killed in K-P operations

Two security personnel, including an officer, embraced martyrdom while fighting terrorists in separate operations in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) over the past 48 hours in which eight terrorists were also killed, the military said on Sunday.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operations were carried out in Bannu and Khyber districts between 29 November and 1 December 2024. It said that the dead terrorists were involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces and civilians.

"An intelligence based operation was conducted in the general area Baka Khel, Bannu district on reported presence of khwarij," the ISPR said in a statement. "Own troops effectively engaged the khwarij location and resultantly killed five khwarij, while nine khwarij got injured," it added.

However, during the operation, Sepoy Iftikhar Hussain, having fought gallantly, embraced Shahadat, the ISPR said. The 29-year-old Sepoy Iftikhar Hussain hailed from the Jhang district of Punjab, the ISPR statement said.

In another operation in the general area Shagai, in Khyber district, "three Khwarij were sent to hell, while two were apprehended by the security forces". During intense fire exchange, Captain Muhammad Zohaib Ud Din, was martyred, according to the statement.