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:
- Cyprus: Explosion outside Nicosia shop
November 10, 2023
An explosion occurred outside a shop in the Makedonitissa area of Nicosia in the early hours of Friday morning. Police said the explosion occurred at around 2:30am and caused damage to the shop front as well as causing a fire inside the building. The fire was extinguished, and the scene was cordoned off by police. Tests ...
- Five right-wing terrorists arrested throughout Europe with the support of Eurojust and Europol
November 10, 2023
Eurojust and Europol have supported the competent authorities in Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Lithuania, Romania and Italy in an international operation against right-wing terrorism. During a joint action day, 5 suspects were apprehended and an additional 7 others interrogated across the different countries. Furthermore, data carriers and weapons were seized. The suspects allegedly belong to a right-wing ...
- Finland: Stolen explosives likely sold on construction black market
November 9, 2023
In late October, 50 kilogrammes of dynamite were stolen from a construction site near the Isohaara power plant in Kemi, southwest Lapland. The theft of explosives is relatively rare in Finland. However, no exact figures on this type of crime are available as they are classed in statistics together with firearm theft. Last year there were ...
- UK: Homes evacuated after grenades found at Liverpool house
November 6, 2023
Homes were evacuated after two grenades were found at a house following an arson attack. Two men, dressed in black, broke into a house before setting fire to it on Parkview Road, Croxteth, Liverpool at about 22:40 GMT on Sunday, police said. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service put out the fire before they found the grenades, ...
- Ukraine: Zaluzhny’s assistant killed by grenade explosion near Kyiv
November 6, 2023
A serviceman has been killed in a residential complex in the village of Chaiky, Kyiv region, as a result of careless handling of ammunition, the press service of the National Police of Ukraine reports. “According to preliminary information, a 39-year-old serviceman was killed as a result of a grenade explosion. His 13-year-old son is seriously ...
- Turkish soldier killed in IED explosion in Van province
November 4, 2023
A Turkish soldier who was wounded in an explosion of an improvised explosive device (IED) in eastern Türkiye succumbed to his injuries, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said Saturday. The explosion of the IED planted by members of the “separatist terrorist group” in the Baskale district of Van severely injured Samet Bektas, the ministry said in ...
- IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine -Update 192
November 3, 2023
On Thursday – when the rotation of IAEA experts took place – there were Russian reports of drone attacks in the town of Enerhodar, where many plant staff live. Almost every day in recent weeks and months, the IAEA experts have continued to hear explosions some distance away from Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (NPP), ...
- Ukraine: M1 Abrams-Based Mine Clearing Vehicle Appears In-Country
November 3, 2023
The U.S.-made M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) will provide critical capabilities helping Ukrainian troops clear the hundreds of miles of dense mine fields the Russians have built up. The U.S. Army describes the M1150 ABV as a “highly mobile and heavily armored minefield and complex obstacle breaching system. It consists of an M1A1 Abrams tank hull; ...
- Ukraine Is Using AI to Help Clear Millions of Russian Landmines
November 2, 2023
The humanitarian process used to detect and clear unexploded land mines has changed little since World War II. Until recently, Ukraine had no unified database that kept track of surveyed terrain or aggregated information from commercial, international, and government operators, Ukrainian officials told TIME. Decisions were made based on a predetermined priority list and often outdated ...
- France: Police open fire on woman who ‘made threats’ in Paris train station
October 31, 2023
According to witnesses the 38-year-old woman, who was completely veiled, shouted “Allahu akbar” (“God is Greatest”) and “made threats”, a police source said, adding that “police fired because they feared for their safety”. After passengers on a suburban train travelling from the eastern suburbs to Paris alerted police, agents managed to “isolate” the woman at the ...
- UK: Metropolitan police to increase intelligence gathering in London schools amid Gaza tensions
October 29, 2023
Metropolitan police officers have been instructed to increase intelligence-gathering activities at London schools in response to the Israel-Hamas war, ramping up concerns among human rights groups about the surveillance of children. Officers were briefed to “increase their visible patrols” at schools and engage with school staff in order to obtain information about “community tensions”, according to ...
- IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine – Update 191
October 27, 2023
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts have assessed the damage caused by this week’s powerful explosions near Ukraine’s Khmelnitsky Nuclear Power Plant (KhNPP), observing 26 broken windows but reporting no impact on nuclear safety and security at the site, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today. The IAEA team present at the KhNPP has conducted a ...
- Greece: WWII bomb diffused in Athens suburb
October 26, 2023
A WWII-era bomb found during works in the Athens suburb of Glyfada was diffused on Thursday morning. The Land Mine Clearance Battalion (TENX) conducted a special operation at the location of the discovery. Reports say that the 226 kg (500 lb) bomb was defused using thermite and without the need for an explosion. Read more… Source: Greek ...
- NATO tests new regional ‘deterrence and defense’ plans
October 25, 2023
BRUNSSUM, Netherlands — NATO ended its largest and most complex computer-assisted, command post exercise of the 21st century on Oct. 19. Exercise Steadfast Jupiter 2023 included more than 7,000 personnel from 17 NATO nations and 24 multinational headquarters exercising every aspect of military operations from the strategic to the tactical levels. “Steadfast Jupiter 23 is important ...
- Ireland: Explosive discovered in field in operation targeting Limerick organised crime
October 25, 2023
Gardaí arrested five men and seized drugs worth over €70,000 in an operation targeting organised crime in Co Limerick on Tuesday. A number of searches were conducted by gardaí attached to Limerick crime functional area at locations in Limerick, Cork and Clare. During the search of a field in the Limerick area, the assistance of the ...