Landmine blast in western Iran leaves 1 killed, 1 injured

Investigations are underway to find the reason behind the accident which happened on Sunday evening in Kermanshah Province, Sarpol-e Zahab police commander Colonel Mohammadreza Yari told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Monday.

Minutes after the accident, the rescue team and police forces were dispatched to the site to respond to the critical situation, Colonel Yari said.

Sarpol-e Zahab is located in the west of Kermanshah Province, 48 kilometers from the Iran-Iraq border.

Qasr-e-Shirin was under occupation of Iraqi forces during the war.

A large number of landmines were planted by Iraqi army forces in the 1980s during the war against Iran.

Despite efforts by Iranian demining teams, dozens of people are still being maimed or killed along the country's western borders every year.

Government officials say that Iraq planted around 12-16 million landmines in Iran during the war over an area of four million hectares. Khuzestan is reportedly the most mined area, followed by Kermanshah and Ilam.

The Iranian Army estimates that 1.5 million to 1.8 million hectares are still littered with Iraqi landmines, which have severely restricted agricultural production in the five provinces along the Iraqi border.

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