A bomb mistaken for a toy killed one child and wounded five others on Wednesday at a playground near north-west country's Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan, police said. The blast took place in the town of Tank, which sits about 30 kilometres east of the lawless tribal belt that runs along the Afghan border and has become a sanctuary for Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants.
"Some children were playing at a playground and a blast took place in a nearby garbage heap, killing one child and wounding five others," Tank police chief Ejaz Abid told AFP. "Children found a toy from the garbage heap and when they were playing with it, it exploded," he added.
Sadaqat Paracha, 10, told AFP by telephone that he was playing cricket with his friends and went to fetch the ball from the corner of the playground when he found a "ball of steel" on the pile of rubbish. "I threw the ball towards the other children and as soon as it hit the ground, an explosion occurred and I received wounds on my foot, forehead and shoulder," Paracha said from hospital.
Sheeraz Ahmed, another child, said that the bomb looked like a steel football: "As soon as the ball touched the ground it exploded." Local police official Mohammad Ali Khan confirmed the toll, and said bomb disposal experts were at the scene. "The child who died in the blast is nine years old, and the wounded are between five and twelve years old," Ali said.
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