By Anas al-Bar | 2024-09-22

Iraqi authorities say they are making good progress in clearing explosive remnants of war and unexploded ordnance left behind by the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) and previous conflicts, with international help.

Ammunition, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and explosive remnants of war used to contaminate 6,000 sq. km of land in Iraq, said Iraqi Directorate for Mine Action head Mustafa Hameed.

This has been reduced to 2,060 sq. km, one-third of the previous area, he said.

The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has removed 700,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance throughout Iraq since 2015, in cooperation with its partners, including 2,600 explosive devices, per an August 19 UN report.

Basra is the most mine-contaminated Iraqi province, followed by Diyala, Babel, Anbar and al-Muthanna.

De-mining operations

"Mine clearing operations are currently under way in an area of 450 sq. km, almost half of which is located in Basra," Hameed said.

Most of the mine-contaminated areas in southern Iraq date back to the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

Between 2014 and 2017, Iraqi and international coalition forces battled to oust ISIS from the northern and western provinces of Ninawa, Anbar, Kirkuk, Salaheddine and Diyala.

ISIS tried to slow their advance by planting thousands of IEDs along roads and in city centers, and later planted booby-trapped devices in government buildings, private properties and near electricity poles as it began its retreat.

In August, 118 people were injured or killed by explosive remnants of war.

On September 1, three children and one young man from the same family were killed in a landmine explosion in the Ninawa province town of al-Baaj.

Raising public awareness

Around 8.5 million Iraqis are still at risk from unexploded war remnants, according to the international organization Humanity & Inclusion.

From July 2023 through June this year, Humanity & Inclusion teams destroyed 1,350 explosive devices ISIS had left behind in Kirkuk and Salaheddine.

In Mosul, which served as ISIS's de facto capital in Iraq, signs and flags still warn of the presence of homemade explosives.

Hameed said his department "is disseminating more instructions and warning signs to raise public awareness and urge the public to immediately report any foreign objects."

The Directorate for Mine Action is conducting a census of victims of mines and explosive devices in Mosul in order to build a database that would facilitate the provision of health and social services to them, he said.