The United Nations says it costs as much as $50 million to remove all mines, explosive devices and booby traps left by the ISIS terrorist group in and around the Iraqi city of Mosul, as government forces and allies prepare for a new stage of liberation operations in the Takfiri group’s last stronghold on Iraqi soil.
The United Nations says it costs as much as $50 million to remove all mines, explosive devices and booby traps left by the ISIS terrorist group in and around the Iraqi city of Mosul, as government forces and allies prepare for a new stage of liberation operations in the Takfiri group’s last stronghold on Iraqi soil. Paul Heslop, the chief of program planning and management section of the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), announced the estimate on Monday, adding that another $50 million was needed this year for the rest of the Arab country to be cleared of the landmines and improvised explosive devices (IED) planted by ISIS. The UNMAS, operating as part of the world body’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations, had previously estimated that some $112 million was needed for the whole of Iraq this year, and around $178 million next year. Iraqi army soldiers, supported by fighters from pro-government Popular Mobilization Units, commonly known by the Arabic term Hashd al-Sha’abi, and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, launched a joint operation on October 17, 2016 to retake Mosul from terrorists.
