Old landmine kills 8 of Iraqi family

NASIRIYAH  - Eight members of one Iraqi family, including three woman and two children, were killed Thursday when an old mine brought home by one of their children exploded inside their house, police said.

The incident occurred in the morning in al-Bataha, a rural area near Nasiriyah, about 350km south of Baghdad, Ali Siwan, a police officer with the city’s bomb disposal unit, told AFP.

“A child from this family found an old mine and was holding it and hitting the bomb and it exploded,” said Siwan.

One other family member was injured, he added.

Meanwhile, Iraq postponed provincial elections due in October after MPs failed to agree the necessary legislation in time, in a blow to US-backed efforts to consolidate national reconciliation.