Friday, March 29, 2024

Baghdad

Landmine from Iran-Iraq war wipes out sheep herd in Diyala

 Landmine from Iran-Iraq war wipes out sheep herd in Diyala

Landmine (representational photo)

Landmine (representational photo)
Diyala (IraqiNews.com) A landmine left over from the Iraqi-Iranian war in the 1980s exploded in Wednesday in a herd of sheep in Diyala, killing most of the animals, according to a local official.

The landmine, which dates back to the 1980-1988 war between Iraq and Iran, went off and killed most of a sheep herd in Qazania, 1200 Km of Baqubah, near the borders with Iran, according to the town’s mayor, Mazen al-Kazai.

“Regions on the borders between Iraq and Iran at Qazania are riddled with landmines which kill several shepherds and their animals every year,” Khazai was quoted as saying by Alsumaria News.

Dozens of landmines drift with seasonal floods towards farmlands, adding to the citizens’ suffering over the past years, he said, urging the defense ministry to erect warning signs to avoid human losses.

Qazania municipality said Sunday it had formed a panel of environment officials to tackle the landmines issue to draw a map of their locations.

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