- Title: Kurdish peshmerga set up museum of Islamic State ammunition
- Date: 9th November 2016
- Summary: DOHUK, IRAQ (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS TYPES OF IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICES (IEDS) ON DISPLAY AT MUSEUM VARIOUS OF IEDS ON DISPLAY BLACK BANNER OF ISLAMIC STATE / DIFFERENT KINDS OF SHELLS ISLAMIC STATE FLAG PESHMERGA FIGHTER LOOKING AT DISPLAY COLLECTION OF LAND MINES DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM, LIEUTENANT COLONEL NOWZAD KAMIL HASSAN, ARRANGING ITEMS ON DISPLAY EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS AND CANS CONTAINING EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Kurdish) DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM, LIEUTENANT COLONEL NOWZAD KAMIL HASSAN, SAYING: "We have been collecting explosive munitions used by Daesh since the start of the fight against Daesh and up to now and we put on display in this room as samples to be used in the training of the Peshmerga fighters and officers too. We also collected these things as a testament of the fight of the Peshmerga against Daesh and as a record of the weapons used by Daesh against the Peshmerga and the civilians." VARIOUS OF BOMBS AND SHELLS (SOUNDBITE) (Kurdish) DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM, LIEUTENANT COLONEL NOWZAD KAMIL HASSAN, SAYING: "At the beginning of the war against Daesh we were too busy and we did not have time to collect things, but after a while we started to collect all the items used by them and their leaders including bombs, shells and bullets." HASSAN SHOWING UNEXPLODED EXPLOSIVE BELT MANNEQUINS DISPLAYING UNIFORMS WORN BY ISLAMIC STATE MILITANTS VARIOUS KINDS OF BOMBS MATERIALS USED TO MANUFACTURE BOMBS (SOUNDBITE) (Kurdish) PESHMERGA CORPORAL, BIEWAR HAJJI KHALED, SAYING: "We have collected these things and displayed at the museum to make people aware of their danger. We hope tat when people see these things on television, they will be familiar with them and will be able recognise if they see a similar thing on their way home and in this way we will help save their lives." VARIOUS OF BOMBS AND EXPLOSIVES ISLAMIC STATE PUBLICATIONS PEOPLE TOURING MUSEUM
- Embargoed: 24th November 2016 10:04
- Keywords: Islamic State Peshmerga IEDs explosives Mosul
- Location: DOHUK, IRAQ
- City: DOHUK, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA00157PZVPX
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A museum displaying hundreds of remnants of explosives and improvised explosives materials (IEDs) used by the Islamic State militants against the Kurdish peshmerga forces has opened in the Kurdish city of Dohuk.
It was set up by the peshmerga's Military Engineering Division in 2015, with the aim of informing the Kurdish people about the nature of the bombs used.
Lieutenant Colonel Nowzad Kamil Hassan and his colleagues started to collect the remnants left behind by the militants first for study, and then to train the peshmerga on how to deal with them. As the collection grew, they decided to display them to the public.
"We have been collecting explosive munitions used by Daesh since the start of the fight against Daesh and up to now and we put on display in this room as samples to be used in the training of the Peshmerga fighters and officers too. We also collected these things as a testament of the fight of the Peshmerga against Daesh and as a record of the weapons used by Daesh against the Peshmerga and the civilians," Hassan said. He was referring to the group by their Arabic acronym.
The militants have used landmines, bombs and suicide bombers to slow down the advance of Iraqi forces and the peshmerga as they fight for the control of Mosul.
The museum displays around 500 kinds of handmade bombs, IEDs, shells and land mines, mainly collected from the areas of Khazer, Sinjar and the town of Tel Askuf.
The all-black uniform worn by the militants and Islamic State black banner is also on display.
Among the items is an unexploded explosive belt, which Hassan said, was defused by the peshmerga after they wounded the suicide bomber who was wearing it.
Kurds have been regaining territory from Islamic State in northern Iraq since the U.S.-led air strikes began in August, 2014. But their progress has been hindered by bombs and booby-traps.
Peshmerga corporal Beiwar Hajji Khaled said the museum will also raise Kurdish people's awareness of the explosives so that they can better protect themselves.
"We hope that when people see these things on television, they will be familiar with them and would be able to recognise when they see a similar thing on their way home and in this way it would help save their lives," he said.
Militants have been reported to be carrying out more complex attacks, where an initial explosion is followed by a small arms assault, or further devices are used to target reinforcements. Suicide bombers may also be sent to blast through the wall of a compound or base, making way for a secondary offensive.
Islamic State fighters in the past have adapted their tactics and concealed IEDs in increasingly unlikely places.
In one instance, they were reported to booby-trap their own black flag so it would blow up when anyone tried to remove it after they left.
Iraqi security forces and peshmerga fighters started the Mosul offensive on October 17, with air and ground support from the U.S.-led coalition. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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