Officials from the Taliban in southeastern Afghanistan reported on Monday that a landmine explosion overnight had resulted in the deaths of at least nine children. The incident occurred in the district of Geru, Ghazni province, as a group of young boys and girls were playing with what was described as an "unexploded mine." Hamidullah Nisar, a spokesperson for the provincial government, stated that the ordnance dated back to the Russian invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s. The United Nations in Kabul highlighted the ongoing danger posed by landmines and explosive remnants of war in Afghanistan, stating that tens of thousands of civilians, including women and children, have been killed or injured. Despite efforts to clear affected areas, much more work is needed to safeguard Afghan communities from the legacy of decades of conflict, including the civil war of the 1990s and the subsequent rule of the Taliban.