Landmine Explosion: Two tribesmen injured

PARACHINAR: Two tribesmen were injured when one of them stepped on a landmine in Upper Kurram Agency on Friday morning. A political administration official from Parachinar, the headquarters of the agency, said the incident took place in a village near the Pak-Afghan Border, adding that the identity of the injured tribesmen could not yet be ascertained. He said both men were on their way to Parachinar Bazaar from Speena Shaga when one of them stepped on the landmine planted by unidentified militants. The official said the victims were taken to a hospital by locals. He suspected that militants had planted multiple landmines in the area around the Pak-Afghan border, posing a serious threat to tribesmen. “We don’t know how to trace them,” he added. A number of tribesmen and security officials have been injured or killed in landmine explosions in Kurram Agency since 2013. The mines are usually planted by militants to target security forces’ convoys. However, security forces also plant the explosive devices near their check-posts to avoid terrorist attacks, while some of the mines were left from the time of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2014.