More children are being killed and injured by explosive weapons than at any point in modern history, a landmark report has found. It finds that explosive weapons – mainly state owned – were responsible for more than 60 per cent of all conflict-related child deaths and injuries between 2020 and 2024. In total, there were almost 50,000 casualties, equivalent to 200 passenger planes full of children.
The carnage is being driven by an increase in the use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas; the spread of new munitions, such as glide bombs, which pack huge explosive power; and the erosion of key principles of the rules of law.
Read more…
Source: The Telegraph News
Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Pakistan: One person killed, 3 others injured in Bannu blast
October 28, 2026
One person was killed and three others sustained injuries when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in the Dabak Saidkhel area of Bannu on Tuesday. According to an initial police report, local elder Malik Sabeel Khan was travelling along with his brother Malik Anar Khan, Attaur Rahman and Hayatullah, all residents of Bezankhel. They were returning ...
- Nigeria: Suspected terrorists kill five, raze houses in Adamawa communities
October 27, 2026
Suspected Boko Haram terrorists have killed five people and destroyed several residential buildings and business premises in attacks on Gaya Sikalmi and Gaya Gartsanau communities in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State. The attacks occurred in the wee hours of Monday, throwing the affected communities into chaos as the assailants reportedly opened fire indiscriminately and ...
- Pakistan: Armed Forces attacked, bridge destroyed in Balochistan
October 26, 2026
Clashes between Pakistani forces and armed fighters were reported in Balochistan’s Nushki and Khuzdar districts over the weekend, while an explosion hit a Coast Guards officer’s vehicle in Pasni, according to local sources. In Nushki, armed fighters attacked troops advancing through Reko on the Nushki–Kharan road, near the Hazhdah Khol post. Sources said reinforcements were attempting ...
- Ukraine: Humanitarian demining restricted in six regions due to security risks
October 26, 2026
Due to security risks, the National Mine Action Authority has decided to restrict the planning of new humanitarian demining operations in six regions. This is stated in a press release from the Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian News Agency reports. The decision applies to areas suspected of being contaminated or confirmed to be contaminated in the Donetsk, ...
- Colombia: Car bomb explosion at Casanare tollbooth leaves four injured
October 23, 2026
A powerful explosion at the San Pedro tollbooth, located on the road connecting the municipalities of Villanueva and Monterrey in Casanare, early Friday morning, October 23, 2026, left at least four people injured and caused considerable property damage. Authorities are investigating whether the attack was carried out using a car bomb. According to initial reports from ...
- As 3D-Printed Weapons Test Conventional-Arms Control, First Committee Calls for Stronger Tracing
October 22, 2026
Delegates in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), concluding today’s thematic debate on conventional weapons, called for tighter safeguards against illicit arms transfers and diversion, binding global governance of autonomous weapons and updated tracing measures to address challenges posed by three-dimensional (3D) printed arms. Delegations also highlighted the humanitarian consequences of anti-personnel mines, cluster munitions, ...
- Netherlands: Extremely explosive Cobra 20 fireworks bombs found in Utrecht garage
October 15, 2026
Police discovered nearly 50 powerful explosive fireworks in a basement storage unit under an apartment building in Utrecht’s Overvecht district. The devices contained approximately 10 kilograms of flash powder combined and posed a significant risk to people living nearby. Police arrested the 55-year-old owner of the unit. The explosives were discovered on Tuesday during a joint ...
- Netherlands: Escalation in fireworks-related violence requires new security and response strategies
October 14, 2026
With more than 1,500 blast attacks each year, the Netherlands holds the unfortunate distinction of being Europe’s leader in this area.* The increase in blast attacks began in 2023 and has continued in the years since. Criminal gangs, particularly in major cities, use large, illegal fireworks to carry out attacks, motivated by extortion, retaliation and ...
- Another Tanker Catches Fire in Strait of Hormuz after Hitting Sea Mine
October 12, 2026
A third oil tanker caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after striking a sea mine while attempting to navigate an unauthorized route, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy announced. The IRGC Navy’s public relations office said on Sunday night that a shuttle-type oil tanker carrying 750,000 barrels of crude oil attempted to pass through ...
- Saudi Arabia: Attack on Riyadh airport killed 12 people and wounded over 300 more
October 10, 2026
The latest attack on the international airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh killed 12 people and injured over 300 others, civil aviation authorities said early Sunday, with some in critical condition. The attack was the deadliest in any Gulf Arab country since the start of the Iran war, whose fronts have expanded to include the ...
- From Ukraine’s trenches to South America’s borders and favelas: Criminal organizations use of one-way attack drones
October 6, 2026
There is a growing amount of research on Ukrainian adaptation and how civilian, military and private organisations have reorganised during the war. Researchers and policymakers are seeking to understand how Ukraine has reinvented itself to meet the challenges of the war against Russia, to carry that knowledge back to their own countries. At the same ...
- Vietnam backs efforts to prevent use of cluster munitions, anti-personnel mines
September 15, 2026
Vietnam supports the humanitarian goals of international conventions banning cluster munitions and anti-personnel mines, as well as efforts to prevent their indiscriminate use, a Vietnamese official said at a conference in Vientiane on September 14. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Thi Hoang Van, who led a Vietnamese delegation to the conference as an observer, said ...
- UN chief, Red Cross renew call for rules on lethal autonomous weapons
August 25, 2026
Amid unconfirmed reports that fully autonomous and AI-guided drones are now being used on the battlefield, UN chief António Guterres and the President of the Red Cross on Tuesday renewed their urgent call for stricter global controls, before it is too late. The timing of the appeal reflects growing concerns that increasingly sophisticated weapons are being ...
- Israel: Two IDF reservists killed, 4 seriously wounded by IED blast in south Lebanon
August 6, 2026
Two reservist soldiers were killed, and four were seriously wounded after being hit by an explosive device in the southern Lebanon town of Majdal Zoun yesterday, the IDF announces. The slain troops are named as: Maj. (res.) Harel Birenstock, 34, a company commander from Nokdim; and Sgt. Maj. (res.) Tamir Vaknin, 33, from Eilat. Both served ...
- Poland: PM Tusk says Russian missile appears to have come down in Lublin region
July 30, 2026
An object that came down in eastern Poland overnight appears to be a Russian missile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday, after authorities found a crater and scattered debris in a field following reports of an explosion. It was the latest in a series of airspace incursions in countries on NATO’s eastern flank, including Romania and ...