Landmine explosion: Two killed in Kurram Agency

Six injured, one victim said to be in critical condition.

PARACHINAR: Two tribesmen were killed and six others injured when a passenger vehicle ran over a landmine in lower Kurram Agency on Friday. An official of the political administration said the car was en route to Parachinar after Friday prayers when the explosion occurred in Maingak, Khar Pati. The vehicle was destroyed and two people were killed on the spot.

Residents rushed to the site for rescue work and took the bodies and injured to Parachinar Headquarters Hospital. The deceased were identified as Nasir Hussain Tori and Khair Ali Tori.

Sabir Hussain, medical superintendent of the Agency Headquarters Hospital in Parachinar, said the bodies were mutilated by the impact of the explosion. He added one injured victim is in critical condition as they had to amputate his arm. The rest are in stable condition and undergoing treatment, Hussain said.

Eight people have been killed and 19 injured in landmine explosions so far this year.

Seven-month timeline

January 31: Two polio vaccinators were killed when their motorcycle ran over a roadside landmine on the outskirts of Parachinar

February 10: A man was killed when he stepped on a landmine in Mali Khel area on the outskirts of Parachinar, near the Pak-Afghan border

March 10: Three men were injured when their car passed over a landmine in Khwar Kallay, lower Kurram Agency

March 11: Two security personnel killed and three injured after their vehicle ran over a landmine in Dogar area of central Kurram Agency

March 29: Four security personnel were injured when their vehicle was blown up in Shaheedano Dandh area of lower Kurram Agency

April 25: A tribesman was killed and three others injured when a tractor ran over a landmine near Parachinar Sports Complex

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2013.