Specialist Norwegian demining unit clears airport for US soldiers скачать в хорошем качестве

Specialist Norwegian demining unit clears airport for US soldiers

(25 Jan 2002) TOKO MATERIAL Kandahar International Airport, US Military Base 1. Various of Norwegian demining engineers putting on inflatable soft shoes 2. Norwegian engineers walking across mined ground with inflatable soft shoes and metal detectors 3. Various of Norwegian engineer inspecting for mines 4. Tents at Norwegian compound 5. Sign at Norwegian compound, 'Operation Enduring Freedom' 6. Major Trygve Enger, officer in charge of Norwegian engineers, eating at table 7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Major Trygve Enger, officer in charge of Norwegian engineers, "Compared to other places I've been, Kosovo and Bosnia, there are many more mines here. This is the worst place I've ever been. There are many more mines in a concentrated area here, and many different kinds which are very complex." 8. Wide shot of "flailing" vehicle at work 9. Front of flailing vehicle 10. Interior of vehicle with engineers operating it 11. Monitor 12. View through window 13. Wide shot of flailing vehicle STORYLINE: A contingent of Norwegian engineers, primarily responsible for demining, has been working day and night to clear the ground inside the US military compound at Kandahar International Airport. They use a variety of methods, including inflatable shoes to walk over mined areas, metal detectors and knives to prod and unearth mines, and large vehicles that flail the earth with chains to detonate unexploded mines. The Norwegians work directly under US military command and respond to American requests to clear specific areas needed to accommodate the military assets and personnel being moved in. Their operations focus strictly on such areas designated by the military, rather than systematic demining of large areas for civilian or humanitarian use. According to some of the engineers engaged in the demining process, the area in and around the Kandahar airport is more heavily mined than comparable areas in Bosnia or Kosovo. The officer in charge of the Norwegian contingent, Major Trygve Enger, described it as, "the worst place he had been." Thick clouds of dust fill the air as the circulating chains from a tractor-sized flail beat the hard desert ground. Land mines in its path are detonated and shattered. The flails have a protective shield to protect the operator when a mine explodes. If it is only an anti-personnel mine, the operator does not even feel the explosion. If barbed wire or other debris is in the way of the flailing vehicle, the soldiers use special boots that lighten their steps as they clear away the debris through the mined area. About 150 mines on the grounds of the Kandahar airport have been cleared by the Norwegians. Countless others - likely left over from the 1979-1989 war against the Soviets - remain. The mines stick out from the ground only meters (yards) from where soldiers from the US Army's 101st Airborne Division sleep and patrol. Many of the mines are behind barbed wire, and the soldiers are warned to stay on beaten paths. Last month, a Marine lost his foot in a mine explosion while patrolling the area. Mines in the Kandahar area date back to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and have since been augmented by years of civil war and the rule of the Taliban. Large Al Qaida training camps nearby also account for numbers of mines laid to protect their perimeters. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...