A group of Iraqi armed forces specialists in explosive devices arrived in Slovakia to attend a program that will try to improve their skills in detection, identification and the neutralization of improvised explosive devices. They will attend a course at the Ammunition Testing Centre in Novaky.
The provided training should also enhance their capability in finding and securing home laboratories used to make explosives. This specialized course for 14 soldiers of the Iraqi army is organized by the Slovak Centre of Excellence in the area of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD CoE), a NATO institution headquartered in Trenčín.
“The objective of the course is the training of already qualified specialists and expanding their knowledge in the field of theory of the production, practical production, detection, identification and neutralization of homemade explosives, which are a major component and the explosive component of 80 percent of all used improvised explosive devices in the world,” said the Commander EOD CoE Colonel Jaroslav Bieleny. According to the director of the centre, during the course the Iraqi instructors will learn the basics and chemical composition of various mixtures of home-produced explosives, recognizing home laboratories, items, equipment and devices used in the production of home-produced explosives and become more familiar with safety precautions when working with these types of explosives. “We have prepared a perfect replica of a chemical laboratory facility for our Iraqi partners. Their role during the course will be to identify individual chemicals and tools used to produce them,” stated Bieleny. Defence Minister Martin Glvač perceives this course as confirmation of the leading position Slovakia has within NATO in the liquidation explosive devices. “This is a significant contribution to our partnership with Iraq, where unfortunately attacks with the use of explosives are still almost a daily occurrence,” said Glvač.
