Afghan blast kills child

FARAH, May 18 (Xinhua): One child was killed and two others were wounded in a blast that happened in Balablock district of western Farah province on Tuesday, provincial police spokesman Mohammad Aref Adel said Wednesday.
The blast, according to the official, occurred in Abikhorma area of Balablock district on Tuesday afternoon, killing the child on the spot and injuring two others.
Unexploded ordnances and devices including mines left over from the past wars in the war-torn Afghanistan often claim lives in the country, mostly of children.
Meanwhile, Afghan security forces have seized a dozen American-made M16 assault rifles in northern Balkh province after launching cleanup operations, reported the state-run news agency Bakhtar on Wednesday.
The operations were launched on Tuesday, and 12 M16 assault rifles have been found and seized, the news agency added.
Security forces have also arrested a man in this connection, Bakhtar emphasized without providing more details.
During their 20-year presence in Afghanistan that ended in mid-August last year, the U.S.-led coalition forces largely used the M16 assault rifles in backing the Washington-backed Afghan troops in the war-battered country.
The Taliban-run administration has vowed to collect arms from irresponsible armed individuals to ensure law and order in the Afghanistan.