Peshmerga display array of explosives cleared during ISIS conflict
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Peshmerga engineering teams showcased ISIS-made bombs that were confiscated during the conflict against the jihadist group since 2014.
Samples of 120 explosives were shown in the fair in Kore sub-district in Erbil province.
Peshmerga forces were able to destroy 20,000 mines, improvised-explosive devices (IEDs), and unexploded ordinance during the conflict, especially in Nineveh Plains.
ISIS controlled swathes of Iraqi soil in 2014, taking the country nearly four years to announce its defeat. However, it still remains a threat to Iraq on its borders with Syria where the last holdout of the militants east of the Euphrates is under heavy attack by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Commander of the unit, Maj. Gen. Mahmoud Hussein Kakai, told Rudaw English in July that the Peshmerga have written a book detailing the different types of explosives used by ISIS. The book has been shared with the US-led international coalition.
Iraq is the most mined country in the world because of cycles of violence which stretch back decades.
Photos: Hejar Jawhar | Rudaw
