Explosion of war remnant injures three children in Iraq’s Saladin

Shafaq News/ Three children were injured in an explosion caused by a war remnant in northern Saladin Province, north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a local police source reported on Friday.

The source told Shafaq News, "The children were playing in the Al-Noor neighborhood in central Baiji district (35 km north of Saladin) when they found a war remnant and started playing with it.”

“The object exploded, revealing that it was a hand grenade."

The children were reportedly taken to Baiji Hospital for treatment, while the police have opened an investigation into the incident.

Notably, Baiji district has periodically experienced explosions from remnants of war, left behind by ISIS in areas they once controlled, as well as remnants from military operations in various regions.

In December 2024, a woman was killed and three of her family members were injured when a landmine left by ISIS exploded in the Haditha district of western Al-Anbar province. Additionally, two children, aged eight and seven, were killed by a cluster bomb left behind by ISIS in Tikrit, Saladin Province. 

In response to this risk, both the Iraqi government and the United Nations have recently intensified efforts to address child protection, including ongoing initiatives to clear explosive remnants of war and provide mine risk education, aiming to shield children from these enduring dangers.