Landmine explosion kills 10-year-old, injures three in Saudi

A 10-year-old child was killed and three people including two children were injured in a landmine blast in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The incident took place on Friday, January 4, at the Al-Arda governorate in Jazan province.

Civil defence teams reached the scene at 7pm on Friday following reports of a family’s exposure to a landmine explosion, SPA quoted Mohammed bin Hassan Al-Samgan, the deputy spokesperson of the Civil Defense Directorate in Jazan, as saying.

He said the landmine, which was planted by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen, was washed away by the rains and transported within the borders of Saudi Arabia. Jazan shares a border with Yemen.

The Saudi family was travelling in the region in their vehicle when the landmine explosion took place, instantly killing a 10-year-old and seriously injuring two other children.

A 29-year-old woman was also injured in the incident.

All of them were taken to the hospital and the necessary procedures were taken, the SPA report added.

Yemen has seen a spate of landmine explosions in recent years, with reports estimating that they have killed and injured more than 3,000 people – most of them children and women in the country.

Last year, Saudi launched the $40m Masam project aimed at clearing landmines in Yemen.

The project, funded by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, has removed 26,609 mines since its launch, it was revealed in late December.