NOWSHERA, Oct 10: A teenage boy was killed and seven others injured when a mortar shell they were playing with exploded in Amangarh here on Monday. Eyewitnesses said that the boy had found the shell near the Amangarh army range and had brought it to the Karimi town where he and other children were trying to pierce it open. When the boys struck the shell with an iron rod, the device exploded, injuring eight children, three of them seriously.

The teenage victim was identified as Yousaf Khan. His injured companions — all of them in the age group of 12 to 15 — were identified as Bilal, Umair, Shahbaz, Mohammad Amin, Zeeshan, Farhan and Ilyas.

Sources said that the three seriously injured children were referred to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar for treatment.

The Azakhel police station has registered a case and a full-scale investigation is in progress.