Landmine explosions in Iran’s western Ilam province and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq killed a child and a 39-year-old man on 26 December.

“A 10-year-old nomadic child was grazing livestock in the border area near Abu Ghoveyr village in the city of Dehloran.

After the animals stepped on the landmine, the shrapnel from the explosion hit the child in the chest”, said the city police chief in an interview with state-run media.

He added: “After the explosion, the injured person was transferred to the clinic of Dasht-e Abbas rural district in Dehloran to continue his treatment, but lost his life due to the severity of his injuries.”

On the same day, Ebrahim Abdollahi, a 39-year-old civilian from Saqqez, Kurdistan province, lost his life in a landmine blast while grazing livestock in one of the villages of Penjwin, Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Abdollahi had been grazing livestock in the villages of the border town of Penjwin for several years.