Iran: Engineering battalions clear landmines from large area

Unclassified

Document ID: IAP20010417000045

Version Number: 01

Region: Near East/South Asia

Sub-Region: South Asia

Country: Iran

Topic: MILITARY, DOMESTIC POLITICAL

Source-Date: 04/17/2001

Iran: Engineering battalions clear landmines from large area

 IAP20010417000045 Tehran Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran Network 1 in Persian 0930 GMT 17 Apr 01 

[FBIS Translated Text]

[Announcer] From the 1.5m ha of mine-infested areas over 760,000 ha have been successfully swept since the end of the imposed war [Iran-Iraq War]. 

     [Correspondent-recording] Over 10 engineering battalions of the army's ground forces are currently sweeping mines in all the infested areas.   These operations have been going on for the last 12 years and close to 115 members of the engineering team and personnel have lost their lives trying to discover and neutralize these mine fields and another 475 have been disabled. 

     [Unidentified Official- recording] As you have witnessed yourself, these brave men work very hard in the fields digging out the mines.   After neutralizing the mines and in order to prevent them from falling into the hands of the bandits, monafeqin [Hypocrites, pejorative term used for the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization] and tribesmen - because this area is mainly inhabited by the tribesman - and also to eliminate danger to others, we collect these mines and use explosives such as TNT, and in other cases where the mine has not been detonated we use plastic explosives, and explode them.

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Unclassified