ABU HABBAH — A landmine left behind from Syria's war exploded near a well in the village of Abu Habbah in Idlib province on Thursday, killing three children and wounding four others as they played. Idris al-Ridah wept as he carried the lifeless body of his 6-year-old son Amir, wrapped in a yellow and brown blanket, through northwest Syria.

Amir was laid to rest in a grave next to two siblings, Aya al-Fankih, 4, and Rayan al-Fankih, 6. The Syrian Civil Defense said four other children near the well were wounded in the blast.

"We heard a very loud explosion next to our house," Mahmoud al-Aleiwi said. "When we got to the location there was a number of children's bodies thrown around the well." He said one of the children was thrown 300 meters (984 feet) away by the explosion and was found on the roof of a house.

At a nearby hospital, wounded children cried as family members tended to them. One wounded child had shrapnel wounds across his face and body and his legs were wrapped in bandages. Another lay in bed with blood visible through bandages wrapped around his head.

Mines and booby traps have killed and maimed hundreds of Syrians since the conflict began in March 2011, leaving about half a million people dead. According to data from the United Nations, around 14.3 million people in Syria are in danger of explosive ordnance.

Ten-year-old Ibrahim al-Suwadi was injured last month in a separate explosion caused by unexploded ordnance inside a damaged school in the town of al-Habit in Idlib's southern countryside. "We thought it was an exploded mine so we started throwing rocks at it," he said. "All of a sudden, an older boy grabbed my hand and we ran, the mine exploded and I lost consciousness then I don't remember anything." His father said the family had fled their village in 2013 during fighting and spent years living in displacement camps before returning after the fall of Bashar Assad's government in December 2024.

"Syria has ranked among the top contaminated countries around the world over the past years," said Jakub Valenta, head of humanitarian disarmament and peace building for the Danish Refugee Council in Syria. He said the explosive hazards include anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines and other unexploded devices left behind in residential and agricultural areas.

"We're estimating that around 1,200 people and probably more have been affected by explosive ordnance accidents directly," Valenta said. "Out of those 1,200 people there were around 740 fatal casualties. The vast majority of these people are men and children." He added: "The number of the casualties is among the highest worldwide in terms of explosive accidents and victims."

According to the Danish Refugee Council, around 60% of contaminated areas in Syria are agricultural lands. The council has recruited and trained new Syrian explosive ordnance disposal teams to help clear contaminated areas and educate communities about the risks.