Ministry of Defence /  UK Defence Today / Operations / Operation Telic Index 

British forces instituted a mine awareness educational programme once control was established in southern Iraq. Saddam Hussein's regime made liberal use of mines, despite the risk to Iraqi civilians. Also, large caches of weapons were abandoned by Iraqi forces during the conflict. Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams deal with such ordnance as they are located, but several tragic incidents have underlined the threat such weapons can pose to unwary civilians, particularly children. The educational programme targets schools and aims to highlight to the children the very real dangers these munitions present, and also allows the EOD teams to gather information on the possible location of arms caches requiring disposal.

A mine awareness class held at a Basrah school on 17 May 2003, led by a Royal Engineer Regimental Sergeant Major (Click here for high resolution version)

A display of some of the abandoned Iraqi ordnance that can pose a threat to the children (Click here for high resolution version)

An important aspect of the class was gathering information from the children and teachers on weapons that need to be made safe (Click here for high resolution version)

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