Clearing Iraqi cities of explosives may take decades
August 18, 2017 at 3:28 a.m.
| Updated August 18, 2017 at 3:35 a.m.
by
Associated Press
FILE- In this March 22, 2017, file photo, a Federal Police stands next to unexploded bombs left by Islamic State group militants on the western side of Mosul, Iraq. On Thursday, Aug. 17, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said for the first time that the American military will help contractors and other officials locate unexploded bombs dropped by the coalition. U.S. Embassy officials have asked the coalition to declassify grid coordinates for bombs dropped in Iraq to help clear the explosives. The coalition's unexploded bombs are only a small part of Mosul's problems. The bulk of the explosives have been hidden by IS fighters to be triggered by the slightest movement, even picking up a seemingly innocent children's toy, lifting a vacuum cleaner, or opening an oven door. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
BAGHDAD (AP) - The top U.S. commander in Iraq says American troops will assist in the effort to locate unexploded bombs dropped there by the U.S.-led coalition.
The commander, Gen. Stephen Townsend, tells a group of reporters in Baghdad that the American military will find a way to help.
The coalition's unexploded bombs are only a small part of the problem facing Mosul and other Iraqi cities recaptured from the Islamic State group. Militants hid explosives set to detonate with the slightest of movement. They can be almost anywhere - in a child's toy, a vacuum cleaner or an oven door.
A contracting company, Janus Global Operations, has been hired to find and remove explosive devices and unexploded bombs. Some estimates suggest it may take 25 years to clear West Mosul of explosives.
