Kabul, Oct 5 (IANS): Three children have been confirmed dead and two others were injured as an unexploded device went off in north Afghanistan's Sari Pul province, a local police official reported.

The incident took place in the province's Sayad district on Friday morning when the children found a device which had been left over from past wars and played with it. The device exploded, killing the three kids on the spot and injuring two others, said Naqibullah Alamyar, spokesman for the provincial police.

According to Alamyar, the health condition of one of the two injured was reported as critical, reports Xinhua news agency.

A total of 292 people lost their lives following blasts of landmines and explosive remnants of war in the first six months of 2024, 88 per cent of whom were children, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported.

War-ravaged Afghanistan is reportedly one of the most landmine-contaminated countries in the world, with dozens of people, mostly children, being killed and maimed every month.