Duhok destroys 400+ explosive remnants in phased demolition
Shafaq News – Duhok
Authorities in Duhok, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, carried out a controlled demolition operation on Tuesday targeting hundreds of explosive remnants of war.
Reger Besfki, media officer at Duhok’s General Directorate for Mine Affairs, told Shafaq News that the operation, conducted in the Kwashe area west of the province, destroyed more than 400 explosive items, including landmines, unexploded shells, and other hazardous military remnants collected over recent months. He described the detonations as the first phase of a broader disposal plan, noting that three additional phases are scheduled in the coming days.
The destroyed explosives, he explained, date back to earlier Iraqi regimes, as well as to armed confrontations between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish military in several northern areas of Duhok.
Besfki added that mine-clearance teams have also cleared six agricultural fields across the province this year, covering 384 contaminated plots.
Iraq’s explosive contamination is the cumulative result of decades of conflict, including the Iran-Iraq War, the 1991 Gulf War and its aftermath, post-2003 violence, and the campaign against ISIS, alongside the widespread use of improvised explosive devices in certain periods.
According to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), its operations in Iraq since 2015 have led to the clearance of more than 26 million square meters of land and the removal of over 722,000 explosive devices. UNMAS noted, however, that more than 2,583 square kilometers nationwide remain contaminated, continuing to pose risks and limit access to land and essential services.
In Duhok, the Directorate for Mine Affairs reported that clearance teams fully cleared seven agricultural plots in 2024, covering a total area of 540,301 square meters.
