Monday, June 04, 2007
Kurdistan has the most landmines out of all Iraq's regions
Kurdistan
(Iraq Updates) - Kurdistan comes first out of all Iraq's regions with the highest number of landmines, the Iraqi Kurdistan anti-landmine authority – Dahuk Branch said on Sunday. "Authority staff managed to remove 1,532 anti-personnel landmines, 47 anti-armor landmines and 1,074 cluster and fissile bombs in a year," Eng. Uwainan Youssef told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
"The area cleared of landmines this year reached 321,519 square meters, in addition to 12,978 square meters cleared using sweepers," he said, adding that 3,251,154 square meters have been examined by bomb squads.
Youssef said 53 villages benefited from the authority's work, noting that landmines were removed from a large area covering 10 fields where oil pipelines are laid.
"We have not scanned for any internationally banned unexploded bombs but we have detonated several phosphoric bombs, which are highly dangerous, in the area of Bishapour near the Iraqi-Syrian-Turkish border triangle," said the Iraqi explosives expert.
"The area cleared of landmines this year reached 321,519 square meters, in addition to 12,978 square meters cleared using sweepers," he said, adding that 3,251,154 square meters have been examined by bomb squads.
Youssef said 53 villages benefited from the authority's work, noting that landmines were removed from a large area covering 10 fields where oil pipelines are laid.
"We have not scanned for any internationally banned unexploded bombs but we have detonated several phosphoric bombs, which are highly dangerous, in the area of Bishapour near the Iraqi-Syrian-Turkish border triangle," said the Iraqi explosives expert.
Labels: Bishapour, Iraqi Kurdistan anti-landmine authority, Kurdistan, landmines, phosphoric bombs
