Landmine kills Syrian soldier, wounds another in Deir ez-Zor
The soldiers were dismantling remnants left by the former regime in the Mayadin area when the blast occurred, the Defense Ministry said.
A Syrian soldier was killed and another wounded on Saturday when a landmine exploded in a rural area of eastern Syria's Deir ez-Zor province, Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported.
The soldiers were dismantling remnants left behind by the former regime in the Mayadin area when the blast occurred, the Defense Ministry's media department said, Syrian Al-Ikhbariya TV reported.
Further details about the blast and the condition of the wounded soldier were not included in the report.
Landmines and unexploded ordnance left over from the war that began in 2011 continue to cause casualties across Syria.
The conflict killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions and devastated the country's infrastructure before the Assad regime fell on Dec. 8, 2024.
Syrian authorities and international organizations are continuing efforts to locate and clear mines and unexploded ordnance in several parts of the country, a task that remains slow and dangerous.
Mine clearance has been hampered for years by the large number of contaminated sites, which means the work is expected to take a long time.
Teams working in areas once held by armed groups face constant risk as they handle old explosives, a pattern seen in many countries recovering from war.
