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Int'l mine clearance exercise held off Estonia

Xinhua, May 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

An annual multi-national joint military operation, featuring the clearance of explosive remnants of war, is going on in Estonian territorial waters this week.

The mine countermeasure exercise, codenamed "Open Spirit," is being held in the Tallinn Bay, Irbe Strait between the Sorve Peninsula and the Courland Peninsula in Latvia, and around Saaremaa and Muhumaa islands.

A total of 15 warships from Europe and North America are involved in the operation.

At least five water mines were located with three of them having been neutralized, Estonian Public Broadcasting quoted unidentified military sources as reporting on Wednesday.

Air bombardment, naval gunfire support, mine-laying, and submarine warfare were waged in the Baltic Sea during the First and Second World War in the first half of 20th century.

As a result, unexploded ordnance during the wars remain in some areas of the Baltic Sea, thus presenting a potential safety hazard to the waters. Endit