Scorched landscapes across Europe have exposed a potentially lethal threat lurking underground.
Rusted bombs and mines from the First and Second World Wars are now endangering emergency crews responding to wildfires across the continent.
High heat has caused several weapons to explode in France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. In the Dutch province of Limburg, a bomb disposal team was called out to inspect woodland near the site of heavy 1944 combat threatened by flames.
Read more…
Source: Independent
Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Northern Ireland: Masked rioters in Co Antrim attack police, torch houses for second night
June 10, 2025
Hundreds of masked rioters attacked police and set homes and cars on fire in the Northern Irish town of Ballymena on Tuesday in the second successive night of disorder that followed a protest over an alleged sexual assault in the town. Police said they were dealing with “serious disorder” in the town, which is about 45 ...
- Northern Ireland: Rioting following protest in Co Antrim town in wake of sex attack arrests
June 9, 2025
Rioting has broken out in Ballymena, Co Antrim, tonight following a protest march by residents in the wake of two arrests over alleged sexual assault. Barricades were then erected and fires lit. Missiles, petrol bombs and paint were then hurled at police lines. Amid pouring rain, the PSNI moved to keep protestors away from the barricades. ...
- Ukraine: Car bomb targets prosecutor in Dnipro, Russian agents detained
June 7, 2025
The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has detained two Russian agents who detonated an improvised explosive device under a prosecutor’s car in the city of Dnipro on 6 June 2025. The SSU reported that the agents were recruited by Russia through Telegram channels offering “easy money”. They first tracked the routes of a prosecutor’s office employee. ...
- Russia: Governor reports blown up rail tracks in Belgorod Region
June 6, 2025
A reserve shunter derailed in the Prokhorovka District of the bordering Russian region of Belgorod as railroad tracks were blown up, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on his Telegram channel. According to him, a two-and-a-half-hour delay in train services was reported, and there have been no injuries. The Yugo-Vostochnaya Railway said a shunter derailed on the Prokhorovka-Belenikhino ...
- IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine – Update 295
June 5, 2025
The IAEA team based at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) today heard repeated rounds of gunfire that appeared to be aimed at drones reportedly attacking the site’s training centre, followed by the sound of multiple explosions, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said. It was the fourth time this year that the training centre, located just ...
- Russia: Rail tracks blown up in Voronezh Region
June 5, 2025
Railroad tracks were blown up in central Russia’s Voronezh Region prior to the passing of a train on Thursday, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said. “A railroad in the Voronezh Region was damaged as an explosive device was activated this morning minutes before a train passed. Professional actions by the train driver and the train ...
- Premier US military CBRNE command supports Exercise Immediate Response
June 4, 2025
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – Soldiers from the U.S. military’s premier Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) formation honed their ability to enable large-scale multinational operations during Exercise Immediate Response in Europe. American Soldiers from several 20th CBRNE Command units participated in the exercise with NATO and partner nation units. Scheduled by U.S. European Command and ...
- Landmines imperil the EU’s moral compass
June 4, 2025
The European Union has long stood at the forefront of the fight against anti-personnel landmines. Its early and active support for the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty reflected a shared European belief: that these weapons are inherently inhumane, fundamentally indiscriminate, and have no place in modern warfare. This was a principled stance rooted in the devastating humanitarian ...
- Poland: Containers with arms, ammunition found near Ukraine border
June 4, 2025
Containers with ammunition and weapons were found in a Polish village near the Ukrainian border, possibly stocks of a private company meant for delivery to Ukraine, Polish authorities said on Wednesday. Private broadcaster TV Republika had earlier reported that eight containers containing weapons had been found at an airstrip in the village of Laszki. “The containers ...
- UK: Bomb squad carry out controlled explosion after high school evacuated
June 4, 2025
The bomb squad has carried out a controlled explosion after a ‘potentially harmful chemical’ was discovered at a high school yesterday (Tuesday). Pupils were evacuated from Denbigh High School on the advice of experts. Police have confirmed a “successful controlled explosion” was carried out. A North Wales Police Conwy and Denbigh Rurual statement said: “We can ...
- Germany: Medical CBRN Training for Ukrainian Medical Personnel
June 4, 2025
This training is part of the European support mission EUMAM UA. The objective is to prepare medical personnel for casualty care under CBRN conditions. The training is conducted under German responsibility at a secure site in southern Germany. Target groups include physicians, emergency paramedics, and nursing staff. The training follows a modular structure. The main focus ...
- UK to stockpile military medical supplies in case of nuclear attack
June 4, 2025
The UK will stockpile military medical supplies to prepare for a possible nuclear attack under plans to ramp up its defences. Medicines and healthcare equipment designed to treat Armed Forces personnel in a chemical or nuclear emergency will be bolstered following advice from the Government’s flagship defence report.NHS services – as well as military healthcare – ...
- Ukraine claims to have damaged Russia’s bridge to annexed Crimea
June 3, 2025
Ukraine’s SBU security service has said it has hit the road and rail bridge linking Russia and Ukraine’s annexed Crimean peninsula below the water level with explosives, in its third attack on the key supply line for Russian forces in the war-torn country. About 1,100kg (2,420 pounds) of explosives were detonated on Tuesday morning to destroy ...
- Germany: World War II bombs found in Cologne-Deutz
June 2, 2025
During exploratory work on Monday, June 2, 2025, three unexploded bombs from the Second World War were found in Cologne-Deutz in the area of the Deutzer shipyard. These are two American 20-hundredweight bombs and one American ten-hundredweight bomb, each with impact fuses. The three ordnance is expected to be defused on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. For ...
- Ukraine: In May, Ministry of Defence demining specialists cleared over 7,800 hectares of land
June 2, 2025
Throughout May 2025, mine clearance units of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine cleared 7,847 hectares of land of explosive ordnance in areas previously liberated from russian occupation. Specifically, during the month, the following was cleared: 7,660.21 hectares of agricultural land; 21.27 km of roadways; 9.44 km of electric power lines; 40.24 km of railways; 5.94 km of pipelines; 0.88 hectares ...