Heavy rains and flash floods are bringing an old danger back to the surface across Iraq: landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) long buried under soil that many communities had come to treat as “safe.”
From southern Kirkuk and the outskirts of Tuz Khurmatu’s Amerli district in Saladin to the Iraqi-Iranian border belt in Wasit, residents and officials say torrents have shifted terrain, stripped away topsoil, and exposed explosive remnants linked both to the Iran-Iraq War and to battles against ISIS.
Read more…
Source: Shafaq News
Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- ‘Everything Living Is Dying’: Environmental Ruin in Modern Iraq
December 21, 2021
As far back as 2005, the United Nations had estimated that Iraq was already littered with several thousand contaminated sites. Five years later, an investigation by The Times, a London-based newspaper, suggested that the U.S. military had generated some 11 million pounds of toxic waste and abandoned it in Iraq. Today, it is easy to ...
- 18th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company returns home from deployment to Iraq
December 16, 2021
FORT BRAGG, North Carolina – The 18th Ordnance Company (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) returned home to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Nov. 30, after serving as the sole EOD company in Iraq for six months. The company deployed to Iraq with nine EOD teams and the full headquarters element to support Special Operations Joint Task Force-Levant. EOD Soldiers from ...
- CJTF-OIR: Combat role in Iraq complete; invitation from Iraq reaffirmed to advise, assist, enable
December 9, 2021
JOINT OPERATIONS COMMAND, Iraq – Combined Joint Task Force – Inherent Resolve, the international force charged with maintaining the enduring defeat of Daesh, announced today that it has completed its transition to a non-combat mission before year’s end as agreed. The new mission is to advise, assist, and enable Iraqi forces. “Tomorrow, we join the people of ...
- Unexploded ordnance bring endless nightmare to Iraq
December 9, 2021
In the northern Iraqi hamlet of Hassan-Jalad, almost every family has a story to tell about a time when a child, nephew or brother was lost to wartime munitions. Located near Mosul, a former stronghold of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, the area is littered with unexploded ordnance, sometimes dubbed UXO. “We are afraid for the ...
- Iraq: Car bomb attack reported in Basra
December 7, 2021
A car bombing was reported in Basrah on Tuesday. The Governor of Basra, Asaad Al Idani confirmed it was a motorcycle bomb. Mr Al Idani told The National that at least four were killed and four were wounded. The explosion burned two cars nearby. Explosives experts are still investigating the explosion. The blast reportedly happened near the ...
- Guerrilla tactics offer Ukraine’s best deterrent against Putin’s invasion force
December 6, 2021
While there is no consensus concerning what current Russian military activity near Ukraine means, it has led to strong statements from US officials. On December 3, the Washington Post reported that US intelligence has found the Kremlin is planning a multi-front offensive as soon as early next year involving up to 175,000 troops. The short timeline ...
- Iraq: Roadside bomb targets coalition forces convoy in Diwaniyah province
December 5, 2021
A convoy belonging to international forces in Iraq was targeted in a roadside bombing on Sunday, which did not result in any casualties, security sources said. An explosive devise planted on the side of a main road in the southern Diwaniyah province exploded as a convoy for the Global Coalition against the Islamic State group passed ...
- Iraq: Clearance Operations on a massive IED belt in Tal Kaif, North of Mosul
November 29, 2021
After eight months of operations conducted by UNMAS implementing partner, Global Clearance Solutions (GCS), in Tal Kaif, north of Mosul, over 250,000 square meters of contaminated land were cleared, and more than 1,200 items of explosive ordnance rendered safe and removed. The farmlands of Tal Kaif are steadily witnessing glimpses of everyday activities after years ...
- Iraq: Five Peshmerga dead and four injured in ISIS Diyala attack
November 28, 2021
Five Peshmerga were killed and five injured in an Islamic State (ISIS) attack in Diyala province on Saturday, a Peshmerga source told Rudaw Sunday morning. Militants attacked the Peshmerga in the Kolajo sub-district at around 10:15pm, a commander of the 5th brigade told Rudaw late Saturday. A Peshmerga vehicle bringing reinforcements hit a roadside bomb, he ...
- 5 brothers on mission to educate rural communities about threat of landmines in Kurdistan Region
November 12, 2021
The loss of their father has motivated five brothers to embark on a mission to raise awareness among local communities in mountainous border areas in the Kurdistan Region of the danger they face from thousands of unexploded mines planted there during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. Their effort, which they call “Be Aware To Be ...
- Iraq’s prime minister survives explosives-laden drone assassination attempt
November 7, 2021
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi survived an assassination attempt with an armed drone that targeted his residence early Sunday, and is unharmed, officials said. The attack comes amid tensions sparked by the refusal of Iran-backed militias to accept the results of last month’s parliamentary election. https://twitter.com/Bilesa_Shaweys/status/1457349811099865089 Read more… Source: NBC News/Blesa Shaways – Twitter
- Pakistan Navy EOD participates in 8th multinational exercise NUSRET 2021 at Turkey
October 31, 2021
Pakistan Navy participated in 8th multinational special operations exercise ‘NUSRET 2021’ at Canakkale, Turkey. PN Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team participated alongwith teams of other countries under the auspices of Turkish authorities. Teams from Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Iraq, Libya, Oman, Republic of Korea, Romania and Tanzania participated in the exercise. Representatives from NATO Mine ...
- 1 Turkish soldier killed, another wounded in explosion in Northern Iraq
October 26, 2021
Turkish soldier was killed and another one was wounded in northern Iraq when a bomb planted by terrorists exploded, the Defense Ministry said Monday. The ministry said in a statement that the soldier was wounded in the Operation Claw-Thunderbolt area due to the blast from the improvised explosive device (IED). The wounded soldier was immediately taken to ...
- Landmine kills one on Kurdistan Region-Iran border
October 15, 2021
A farmer was killed by a landmine on the Kurdistan Region’s border with Iran on Friday. The landmine exploded at around 9 in the morning near Kodo Mountain in the Haji Omran area of Erbil province. The victim was a 28-year-old farmer who was working in the area when the mine exploded, according to Abdulwahab Mahmood, ...
- UK funding for land mine clearance scrapped in Lebanon, Iraq and S. Sudan
October 9, 2021
UK government funding for land mine clearance in Lebanon, Iraq and South Sudan, as well as three other countries, has been scrapped in what humanitarian organisations called a “catastrophic collapse in support”. The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) released a statement earlier this week estimating that UK funding for mine action removal will be reduced by 80 ...
