Russian Army Engineers De-mined 24,065 Explosive Objects in Syria's Palmyra

A group of mine clearance specialists of the Russian Armed Forces destroyed about 24,065 explosive objects and cleared over two thousand hectares of land in Palmyra city of Syria over the last two years.

"In 2016 and 2017, the detachment of the Russian Armed Forces’ Mine Action Center performed twice the task of removing explosives and carrying out mine clearance in the architectural and historical complex, the residential quarters and the airport of Palmyra," Commander of the Palmyra mine clearance group Valery Ovdiyenko told TASS Thursday.

According to the report, the combat engineers checked and cleared 2,339 hectares of the territory, 219 kilometers of roads and 10,476 buildings and structures of mines and destroyed 24,065 explosive objects.

During the mine-clearance operation within the city bounds and the territory adjacent to Palmyra, Russian combat engineers defused a large number of improvised engineering munitions, explosives, mines and rockets, the commander noted.

The commander said that the terrorist organizations are well-equipped with weaponry to carry out combat operations and are using camouflaged casing to conceal the weapons.

"They are furnished with the C-4 plastic explosives placed in specially prepared casings. In order to carry out terrorist acts, the large-scale production of large roadside bongs in metal casings has been organized, using ammonia nitrate and kerosene as explosives," the commander said.

He said the Russian engineers relied on advanced robotic systems to neutralize the site in Palmyra to "prevent causing additional damage to historical sites”.

Russia is continuously taking demining efforts in the war-torn country. Earlier, experts from the International Mine Action Center of the Russian Armed Forces have been sent to Syria's Deir ez-Zor, after Syrian army supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces made a major advance in the city, breaking Daesh terrorist group's siege.