Paramilitary units dismantle 5,000 bombs in Iraq's Salahudin province

BAGHDAD, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units have dismantled some 5,000 explosive devices during the past 30 days in Iraq's central province of Salahudin, the Hashd Shaabi said on Saturday.

The explosive teams of the Hashd Shaabi have dismantled bombs in Baiji oil refinery and nearby power plant, which were grounds for fierce battles with Islamic State (IS) militants in 2015, the government-backed Hashd Shaabi said in a statement.

The explosive teams defused and carried out controlled detonation of different bombs, landmines, projectiles and bomb-making sites, in addition to the disposal of some toxic chemical substances, the statement said.

After fulfilling their clearing mission, the Hashd Shaabi units handed over the refinery and power plant to the ministries of oil and electricity to prepare them for the reconstruction process, it said.

An explosive team remain in the cleared sites to accompany the workers of the ministries to secure their safety for the next stage of reconstruction, the statement added.

The town of Baiji and its oil refinery, some 200 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, was seized by the extremist IS militants in June 2014, but the Iraqi security forces backed by international coalition freed the town and other areas in Salahudin province in November 2015. Enditem