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: SBA police arrest 6 in Trachoni after uncovering explosives, drugs
August 24, 2023
The Sovereign Base Areas Police on Thursday carried out searches on a number of neighbouring properties in Trachoni and discovered a significant amount of drugs, believed to be cannabis. Six Greek Cypriots have been arrested, five men and one woman, a press release by the SBA said. During the search, an improvised explosive device (IED) was also ...
- Norway donates missiles, mine clearing gear to Ukraine
August 24, 2023
Norway will send anti-aircraft missiles and mine clearing equipment to Ukraine and help the war-torn country secure its gas and power supply, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said on Thursday while on a visit to Kyiv. The donation includes IRIS-T missiles, portable kits for creating corridors through minefields and equipment used to repair critical electricity ...
- UK: Teesworks cordoned off as controlled explosion of World War II device underway
August 22, 2023
A cordon has been put in place as a controlled explosion of a World War II device is underway at the Teesworks site. Cleveland Police have confirmed a 500-metre cordon has been put in place around Teesworks in Redcar today (August 22). They said the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team will carry out a controlled explosion ...
- Sweden: Explosion in Skäggetorp, 17-year-old girl detained
August 22, 2023
A 17-year-old girl has been detained at Linköping District Court on suspicion of aiding and abetting public destruction on July 31 in Skäggetorp center in Linköping. The young woman was arrested and detained late in the afternoon on Thursday. The detention hearing was then held this past weekend. The prosecutor requested that the district court detain ...
- IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine – Update 180
August 22, 2023
As part of their monitoring activities at the ZNPP, the IAEA experts are expecting access to the rooftops of reactor buildings 1, 2, 5 and 6 in the coming days. Earlier in August, the team did not observe any mines or explosives on the rooftops or turbine halls of units 3 and 4 after receiving ...
- UK: No new charges in Birmingham pub bombings re-investigation
August 21, 2023
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that it could not bring charges despite a “thorough and careful” review of evidence related to the 1974 atrocities. 21 people were killed in what remains the worst unsolved terrorist attack on the UK mainland. There was hope that a new investigation by West Midlands Police could bring justice but ...
- Ukraine: Blast reported on premises of Interior Ministry site in Kyiv where experts examine explosives
August 19, 2023
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported on Aug. 19 that an explosion occurred on the premises of the Interior Ministry’s State Scientific and Research Expert-Criminalistic Center in Kyiv’s western suburb. Klymenko clarified that the cause of the explosion is not due to a drone or missile strike. Experts on the scene were conducting an examination of explosive ...
- UK: Businessman found guilty of plotting to plant bombs in London
August 19, 2023
A businessman with a “deep-seated grudge” against two lawyers at the National Crime Agency has been found guilty of planting two devices resembling bombs at the heart of London’s legal district to intimidate them. Jonathan Nuttall, 50, was convicted at the Old Bailey of planning to plant the explosives over a £1.4m legal dispute with the ...
- How drones have changed the conflict in Ukraine war
August 18, 2023
As Kyiv’s counteroffensive to liberate Russian-occupied territories slowly advances in Ukraine’s east, the drone war continues to escalate. Beyond the symbolic value of high-profile strikes against targets in Moscow, deep in the Russian heartland, and Novorossiysk, a key Russian port and export hub on the eastern shores of the Black Sea, this also has important ...
- Northern Ireland: Omagh bomb questions can ‘only be fully answered with tandem public inquiries’
August 18, 2023
All questions around the Omagh bomb atrocity can only be answered by holding a public inquiry on both sides of the Irish border, a lawyer representing some bereaved families has said. John McBurney urged the Irish Government to “reconsider” its position after a minister indicated this week that there is no new evidence which would ...
- One Thing May Save Ukraine From Russia’s Mine Warfare Nightmare: Spider Boots
August 18, 2023
“Spider boots” may sound like one of the cool magic items you can find in fantasy games, but this specially-designed four-legged footwear exists in real life, and is literally a matter of saving life and limb. A recent news segment posted by Reuters highlights how combat engineers of Ukraine’s 128th ‘Transcarpathia’ Mountain Assault brigade are using ...
- Sweden raises terrorist alert level after Koran burnings
August 17, 2023
Sweden raised its terrorist alert to the second highest level on Thursday, saying it had thwarted attacks after Koran burnings and other acts against Islam’s holiest text outraged Muslims and triggered threats from jihadists. Anti-Islam activists have damaged several copies of the Koran in recent months in Sweden and also in Denmark, two of the most ...
- Ukraine’s counteroffensive inches forward, with the help of cluster bombs
August 17, 2023
Ukrainian marines have advanced for the second time in two weeks on the southeastern frontlines, towards the key port city of Mariupol, with the recapture of the village of Urozhaine appearing to have been partially aided by the Ukrainian use of controversial cluster munitions. Drone footage of the intense fight for the village has emerged in ...
- Finland: Construction of Europe’s Largest Doomsday Stockpile Quietly Gets Underway
August 17, 2023
Finland is stockpiling emergency supplies to help prepare for a potential nuclear catastrophe, in an EU-funded project spurred by the threat posed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Finnish interior ministry said on Wednesday that the stockpile would include protective gear, measurement equipment, medicines and vaccines for an emergency involving chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) ...
- UK: Dangerous phosphorus flare exploded on Lowestoft beach
August 17, 2023
A bomb squad was tasked with exploding a “highly dangerous” flare after it was brought to land from an offshore wind farm. HM Coastguard Lowestoft was called to receive a “spent flare” at Hamilton Dock after it was brought in by boat from a nearby wind farm. But it was quickly discovered to be a live ...
