A resident of Duhok’s Mangeshk subdistrict has resumed farming on his land for the first time in 35 years, following the removal of mines and unexploded ordnances (UXOs) that had made the area too dangerous to cultivate. Local residents say more than 20 farmers in the Mangeshk area have long suffered from the presence of mines and UXOs, which have caused casualties among civilians and livestock. But recent clearance operations have allowed families to return to their fields.
According to official data, 779 square kilometers of land in the Kurdistan Region were contaminated with mines. So far, 576 square kilometers have been cleared. Over the years, mines and UXOs have claimed the lives of more than 13,600 people.
Read more…
Source: Kurdistan24 News
Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- 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 ...
- MAG responds to catastrophic collapse in UK support for landmine clearance
October 8, 2021
Below is a statement from MAG CEO Darren Cormack, responding to the news that UK funding for humanitarian mine action has been slashed by 80 per cent. MANCHESTER — The UK Government’s decision to reduce its funding for humanitarian mine action by 80 per cent is a catastrophic collapse in support that will harm the lives ...
- Turkish soldier succumbs to injuries from northern Iraq bomb blast
September 17, 2021
A Turkish soldier was killed in northern Iraq after he was wounded in a bomb blast, the National Defense Ministry said Friday. Infantry specialist sergeant Umit Solak was seriously injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off in the Avasin region, the ministry said a statement. The PKK terror group often hides out in northern Iraq, ...
- Iraq: Three Iraqi soldiers killed in suspected ISIS attack in rural Diyala
September 13, 2021
An Iraqi army outpost near a town sixty kilometers north of the capital city of Baghdad came under attack from a suspected ISIS cell, one security source said. The source told Kurdistan 24 that a number of gunmen believed to be members of the ISIS terrorist organization assaulted and temporarily took control of an army checkpoint ...
- Iraq’s Erbil airport targeted in drone attack
September 11, 2021
Erbil International Airport in northern Iraq has been targeted in a drone attack, Kurdish security officials said, the latest in a series of similar incidents over the past year. The internal security service for Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, of which Erbil is the capital, initially said three rockets had hit near the airport. A second statement by ...