Man dies after stepping on landmine near Iranian border

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region -- A man has died in Choman after falling on a landmine while foraging for herbs, according to local civil defense units. 

“A 30-year-old man, Mustafa Ibrahim Hussein, from Pashkozi village in Galala District [Erbil] fell on a mine which killed him after he went on a mountain behind the village to look for spring herbs,” read a statement from Choman Civil Defense Unit on Facebook. 

It added that they were informed of the incident at 11:40 am on Friday, and his body has been recovered. 

There are tens of millions of unexploded landmines and explosive ordnance across the Kurdistan Region’s borders with Iran, more than three decades after the devastating Iran-Iraq war from 1980-1988.

The Mine Action Agency of the Kurdistan Regional Government, with other NGOs including the UK-based Mines Advisory Group (MAG), have cleared huge swathes of the Kurdistan Region, but their demining teams continue their work throughout the year.

Many have been maimed and killed by the unexploded mines in Choman and Bradost areas, which lie northeast of Erbil. 

Less than two weeks ago, a Kurdish farmer found a cache of arms filled with more than 300 highly explosive artillery shells in the Bradost area. They are said to date from the Iran-Iraq war.