Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 20
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
An Iranian child was killed in a landmine explosion near the city of Bostan in the country's south western province of Khuzestan, ISNA news agency reported April 20.
The 10-year old girl hit a landmine remaining from Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) near the border of Iraq, yesterday, Ghasem Mousavi, governor of Bostan said.
She was transferred to a local hospital, where died due to severe injuries, Mousavi added.
The incident will be investigated in a special security committee on April 21, the official said, adding mine clearance forces will be dispatched to the region.
Iran is one of the countries in the world with the most unexploded landmines, which kill and injure dozens of people every year.
According to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, there were 46 deaths and 76 injuries from landmines in Iran in 2012. Seven of the casualties were children.
Land areas in Iranian provinces of Ilam (1,700 hectares), Khuzestan (1.3 million hectares), Kermanshah (691,000 hectares), Western Azerbaijan (59,000 hectares) and Kurdistan (1,480 hectares) were mined during the war.
It was assumed that after the war around 16 million mines could still remain in these areas.