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: Police investigating potential sectarian hate crime after pipe bomb attack on Derry home
October 19, 2023
A woman in her 20s was inside the home in Heron Way when the device partially exploded at the backdoor at around 11.30pm. She wasn’t injured however damage was caused to the door. A number of nearby homes were evacuated for a time while police and ATO examined the scene. The device has now been ...
- Germany: Firebomb attack on Berlin synagogue as tensions rise in Middle East
October 18, 2023
Berlin synagogue has been attacked with Molotov cocktails amid an increase in antisemitic incidents in the German capital following the escalating violence in the Middle East. The Kahal Adass Jisroel community said its synagogue in the Mitte area of the city was attacked with two incendiary devices. Read more… Source: MSN News
- Belgium: Suspect shot dead by police after killing of Swedish football fans
October 17, 2023
The man suspected of killing two Swedish football fans and wounding another in a terrorist attack in Brussels on Monday night has died after being shot by police. Belgium’s interior minister, Annelies Verlinden, told the broadcaster VRT that an automatic weapon found on the “neutralised person” was the same as that used during the attack.Belgian authorities ...
- UK: Second controlled explosion carried out in Union Canal after device found
October 16, 2023
A second controlled explosion has taken place in the Union Canal after a device was discovered. Police confirmed that an explosive item had been recovered from the waterway in Linlithgow on Sunday. The force said that explosive ordnance disposal officers attended the scene and carried out a controlled detonation of the unknown item. Read more… Source: STV News
- UK: Man admits possessing a pressure cooker bomb
October 16, 2023
A clinical support worker who is accused of planning terrorist attacks on a hospital and an RAF base has admitted possessing a pressure cooker bomb. Mohammed Farooq, 27, was arrested in the early hours of January 20 in the grounds of St James’s Hospital, in Leeds. He is due to go on trial later this week ...
- UK: Counter-terror police investigate death of man in Hartlepool
October 16, 2023
Counter-terrorism police are investigating the death of a man and the assault of another in Hartlepool. A 44-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder after the incident in the Tees Street area of the town in the early hours of Sunday. Cleveland police said they were working with counter-terrorism policing north-east to ...
- Ukraine: Two teens blow up on mine in Mykolaiv region
October 15, 2023
In Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region, one teenager died and another was injured after a mine set off. This was reported by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Ihor Klymenko. “A 14-year-old teenage boy died in the Bashtanka district, Mykolaiv region. His 12-year-old friend sustained injuries. Children were playing in the field outside the village where hostilities had been ...
- UK: WWII bouncing mine found at Devon recycling centre
October 14, 2023
A Second World War bouncing mine has been found in a Devon recycling centre. Police in Kingsbridge confirmed that the unexploded ordnance was discovered at Torr Quarry earlier today (Saturday October 14). A spokesperson for Kingsbridge Police said the Royal Navy Bomb Disposal Squad from Plymouth was called in after the mine was found by staff. ...
- France raises security level after school knife attack
October 14, 2023
The French prime minister has put the country on its highest state of counter-terrorism alert after an assailant fatally stabbed a teacher and seriously wounded two others. Witnesses say the knifeman shouted “Allahu Akbar”, or “God is greatest”, during the attack at a school in Arras, northern France. He is now in custody. The “attack emergency” level ...
- UK: Devon man admits encouraging terrorism online
October 14, 2023
A man has admitted encouraging terrorist activity but denies threats to kill two terrorism experts. Harry Parris, 22, pleaded guilty to four counts of encouraging terrorism online on the basis he was “reckless”. On dates between 2019 to 2021 he published on video hosting services and messaging apps, the Old Bailey heard. Parris, of Bittaford, Devon, ...
- Almost €500 million allocated for mine clearance in Ukraine
October 13, 2023
Ukraine has allocated about €500 million for mine clearance, which will be spent on survey equipment, machinery and equipment for bomb disposal experts. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that taking into account previous support packages, about €500 million have been raised for demining for Ukraine. That includes, in particular, €100 million from Switzerland, about €20 million ...
- Norway to allocate additional $18.5M for mine clearance activities in Ukraine
October 11, 2023
The Government of Norway will allocate an additional NOK 200 million (about $18.5 million) in funding earmarked for clearance of mines and other explosives in Ukraine. “Clearing mines saves lives and protects civilians, especially children. Mine clearance is also essential to be able to provide other types of emergency assistance and rebuild infrastructure. Preventing further loss of ...
- UK-led coalition to give Ukraine 100 million pound mine-clearing support package
October 11, 2023
A British-led group of European countries will provide Ukraine with a 100 million pound ($122.70 million) package to support its armed forces including equipment to clear minefields. Britain’s defence ministry on Wednesday said Ukraine was “now the most mined country on earth,” which had become an obstacle in its counter-offensive this year, and that mine clearing ...
- IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine – Update 187
October 11, 2023
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts were today granted access to the rooftop of reactor unit 2 of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and did not observe any mines or explosives there, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said. From the top of the building, the IAEA team could also observe the entire rooftop of its ...
- Ireland: Bomb squad carries out controlled explosion in south Dublin
October 10, 2023
Dublin residents in the Sandymount / Ringsend area were shocked this evening as army bomb disposal experts and gardaí rushed to the scene of a discovery which required a controlled explosion. A statement from an Garda Síochána this evening said: “Gardaí were alerted to the discovery of a device at a premises on the Pigeon House ...
