Civilian wounded by landmine in Basra

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: A civilian man was wounded west of Basra on Sunday after stepping on a landmine left from previous wars, the city’s police information office said. “The incident occurred in the area of Safwa Plantations, (60 km) west of Basra city,” the office told IraqiNews.com news agency. There are a large number of landmine fields to the west and east of Basra left from previous wars in Iraq . The victims are mostly civilians, particularly women and children who shepherd in these areas and also search among the scraps for copper and aluminum to sell in order to eke out a living. Meanwhile, the office said, police forces conducted search raids in different areas of the province, arresting 11 persons on “terrorist and criminal” charges, and seizing 17 unlicensed vehicles and seven unlicensed motorbikes. The oil-rich port city of Basra lies 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad . AmR (P)/SR 1