In Afghanistan, the guns have fallen silent, but the war remains buried beneath the soil in the form of deadly explosive items, including landmines and unexploded remnants of war. The European Union supports mine clearance efforts so communities can safely use land for farming, housing, and schools, while also funding risk education and providing medical and rehabilitation support to survivors.
Afghanistan is one of the most mine-affected countries in the world, a legacy of successive wars that left millions of explosive remnants scattered across villages, mountains, and fields. Many of these devices were planted years ago, and their locations were never recorded.
Read more…
Source: European Commission
Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Afghanistan: Blast Near Mosque in Kabul Caused Fatalities: Intl Hospital
May 25, 2022
A blast took place near a mosque in PD 4 of capital Kabul on Wednesday evening, security officials confirmed. The department of Kabul security put the number of casualties at two wounded, but Emergency Hospital tweeted they have received 22 victims from the mosque blast, 5 of whom were dead on arrival. “We were around here, when ...
- The Afghanistan Freedom Movement Group Claims Responsibility for Today’s Explosion of Mazar-e-Sharif
May 20, 2022
Tahreek-e-Azadi Afghanistan (Afghanistan Freedom Movement) claimed responsibility for an attack on the 209th AlFath Taliban Corps convoy in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province. An explosion occurred this morning, Thursday, May 19, in Mazar-e-Sharif Sharif’s 5th district, and it is believed that the target of the explosion was a Taliban army convoy, leaving three people wounded. Mohammad Asif Waziri, a ...
- Afghanistan: Bomb hits UN car in Kunar province
May 10, 2022
A United Nations vehicle has been hit by a bomb in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province, a local Taliban official says. The provincial director of information and culture department, Najibullah Hanif, told the DPA news agency that the incident took place in the provincial capital Asad Abad city on Monday. Hanif said none of the UN employees were ...
- In Afghanistan, Landmines Are Making Peace Deadly
May 10, 2022
On the morning of April 1, seven children were playing in the lush wheat fields of Afghanistan’s Marjah district, in the southern Helmand province, by tossing around a metal object. Moments later, it exploded. The blast claimed five of their lives, including the youngest in the group, a 5-year-old boy. “My daughter has not only lost ...
- Afghanistan: Security forces seized explosives, 20 hand grenades, weapons and ammunition in Balkh province
May 7, 2022
Security forces arrested two people in connection with the smuggling of ammunition and explosives from Chaharkant district of Balkh province. Some of the detainees were found with some explosives, 20 hand grenades, 20 grenade launchers and a handgun. The detainees confessed in the initial investigation that they wanted to use these explosives in destructive activities in ...
- With Spate of Attacks, ISIS Begins Bloody New Chapter in Afghanistan
May 1, 2022
The first blast ripped through a school in Kabul, the Afghan capital, killing high school students. Days later, explosions destroyed two mosques and a minibus in the north of the country. The following week, three more explosions targeted Shiite and Sufi Muslims. The attacks of the past two weeks have left at least 100 people dead, ...
- Afghanistan: Parwan police arrested two suspects and seized IEDs after blasts target electricity pylons in South Salang
April 30, 2022
Parwan police arrested the perpetrators of the destruction of power transmission pylons in South Salang. The two were arrested today during a reconnaissance operation in Salang district of Parwan province. Improvised explosive devices that the perpetrators were planning to use to destroy another base have also been seized. https://twitter.com/moiafghanistan/status/1520406907294560257 Source: The Ministry of Interior Affairs of Afghanistan ...
- Afghanistan: Casualties reported after explosion at Kabul mosque
April 29, 2022
A blast targeted a mosque on Friday afternoon in PD 6 in the city of Kabul, causing at least 10 deaths and many wounded, security officials confirmed. The blast took place in the Darul-Aman area of Kabul and follows a spate of similar attacks around the country. A spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, Abdul Nafay Takor ...
- Afghanistan’s landmines threaten starvation as well as life and limb
April 29, 2022
As you drive along Afghanistan’s motorways, you have to deal with the culvert crater problem. In this mountainous country, prone to seasonal flash floods, most roads are undercut with drainage channels at 50-metre intervals. For much of the past two decades the Taliban used these culverts to plant improvised explosive devices. Long stretches of Afghanistan’s motorways ...
- Afghanistan: Death Toll of Thursday’s Blasts in Balkh Rises to 11
April 29, 2022
The death toll from two blasts in Mazar-e-Sharif on Thursday evening has risen to 11, and the number of injured to 17. Mohammad Asif Waziri, spokesman for the Balkh Police Command, said that the first blast occurred in the 3rd PD and the second in the 9th PD of Mazar-e-Sharif. According to Waziri, both blasts were ...
- We should not forget the dangers hiding under Afghan soil
April 24, 2022
Today, due to displacement, economic collapse, and a disintegration of social services including health and education, most Afghans are living in increasingly precarious conditions. Up to 23 million Afghans are facing acute hunger – more than half of the country’s population. As the world is rightfully looking at Ukraine, we must not forget Afghanistan. The current ...
- An Insurgency In Ukraine Is Growing, Says a Former FBI Acting Deputy Director and IED Expert
April 24, 2022
After the United States and coalition partners invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003, it was not long before improvised explosive devices – sometimes called roadside bombs or simply IEDs – began to take a toll. Less sophisticated at first, and initially underestimated by senior United States military leaders because of the inability of IEDs in ...
- Afghanistan: Dozens of Worshipers Killed in Mosque Blast in Balkh
April 21, 2022
Dozens of worshipers were killed and wounded in a blast on Thursday that targeted a mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province. The Si-Dukan Mosque was hit by a blast while it was being visited by crowds of worshipers. Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack, according to a statement on the group’s Telegram channel. The head of ...
- Deadly blasts target boys’ school in Afghan capital Kabul
April 19, 2022
At least six people including students have been killed and 11 others wounded after two blasts targeted a boys’ school in the Afghan capital’s Dasht-e-Barchi neighbourhood, a Kabul police spokesman has said. Khalid Zadran told AFP news agency on Tuesday that two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) blew up outside the Abdul Rahim Shahid high school in ...
- Pakistan: 97 soldiers killed in 3 months in terror incidents along Afghanistan border
April 19, 2022
Last week Pakistani army conducted “retaliatory” strikes allegedly against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) a militant group inside Afghanistan in Khost and Kunar provinces. While Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the attack, Shabir Ahmed Osmani, director of information said at least 41 people including children were killed in the attack. Pakistani sources, however, said the action was ...