Shafaq News – Dhi Qar

A 13-year-old boy died on Wednesday after a war remnant exploded in the Saba oilfield area south of Nasiriyah in Iraq’s Dhi Qar province, a security source told Shafaq News.

The source said the child was on a family picnic in the desert outskirts of southern Iraq when he came across the device, which detonated and caused fatal injuries.

Iraq remains one of the world’s most extensively contaminated countries, with an estimated 25 million of unexploded remnants of war (ERWs) spread across more than 2,100 square kilometers. Decades of conflict—from the Iran–Iraq War to the 2003 insurgency, the ISIS conflict, and continued cross-border strikes—have created multiple layers of explosive contamination nationwide.

Civilian losses remain severe: since 2004, the Ministry of Health has documented over 14,800 casualties, including more than 5,000 deaths, while experts warn the real number may reach 20,000 due to underreporting in remote regions. Children represent 41% of all victims, with 53 killed or injured in 2023, and 16 additional child casualties recorded in early 2024.

Read more: Spoiled by the coil: Iraq's mines battles take their toll