3 children killed, several injured in South Waziristan attack: security sources

Two separate attacks in South Waziristan on Thursday killed three children and injured several people, security sources said. According to reports, an explosion occurred near a civilian settlement in the Gawa Khwa area of South Waziristan, while mortar shells were also fired at civilians by Afghan Taliban forces in the border tehsil of Angoor Adda. The explosion, they said, was caused after “Fitna al Khawarij hid cylinders filled with explosives near a house in a nearby settlement”. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. “Three innocent children of a family were martyred and several people were injured” as a result of the explosion, the security sources said, noting that the victims were a 15-year-old boy and two girls of eight and seven years old. Security sources added that those injured in the attack were immediately taken to the District Headquarters Hospital in Wana. Locals expressed deep grief and anger over the tragic incident and said that the terrorists were once again targeting unarmed and innocent civilians. The security sources noted that “khawarij elements have been targeting the general population, children and women in South Waziristan and adjacent areas in the past as well”. “Khawarij and their facilitators are continuously shedding the blood of innocent civilians to achieve their nefarious goals; however, such cowardly attacks cannot dampen the morale of the people,” they added. Separately, in Angoor Adda, Afghan Taliban forces fired three mortar shells at a market near the Durand Line, injuring 10 people, according to the security sources. “Three mortar shells hit the Ghazi Rehman Hotel and shops nearby,” they said. The injured were immediately shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, where their condition is reported to be critical. The security sources termed the incident “not only a violation of international laws but also a clear violation of human rights”. “This aggre