Civilian ‘seriously injured’ by landmine in Erbil province 

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A civilian in the Kurdistan Region’s Erbil province was severely injured when a landmine detonated as he was clearing weeds, the Kurdish mine agency announced on Wednesday. 

Khaleed Askandar Aziz was rushed to an emergency clinic in the Galala subdistrict of the Soran Independent Administration in northern Erbil province. 

The 20-year-old civilian was picking “spring weeds” when one of the mines in the area detonated, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Mine Action Agency announced in a statement on Wednesday.

On Apr. 13, another villager in a nearby area was injured by a landmine explosion while also removing weeds. 

The mine agency regularly launches campaigns to raise awareness in areas that still contain mines and other explosives, many planted by the former Iraqi regime during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. 

Local volunteers also work to raise awareness about the lethal dangers of these explosives. 

Over 13,000 people have been killed by landmines, according to the latest figures from the Kurdish agency. Also, more than 500 children have been killed or maimed in the past five years by these devices.