UN calls for probe as Iraq IED explosion injures seven in demining team

The United Nations called on Wednesday for the Iraqi authorities to conduct an investigation after seven demining personnel were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast.

The IED exploded under a minibus carrying a team of Iraqi men and women working for Global Clearance Solutions (GCS), a private partner of the UN's mine action agency, the UN's mission to the country said in a statement Wednesday.

They were travelling to Tel Kaif, near the city of Mosul in northwestern Iraq.

The seven injured were taken to hospital and reported to be in a stable condition, according to the statement.

"Wishing the injured a speedy recovery, the United Nations in Iraq urged the authorities to thoroughly investigate the incident and ensure adequate security for the deminers," the statement read.

Iraq is one of the world's most ordnance contaminated countries in the world, according to the UN.

Northwestern Iraq suffers "extensive and complex contamination" from mines and other explosive devices in areas retaken from the Islamic State, the UN says.

The country's eastern border is littered with mines planted during the Iran-Iraq war, which took place in the 1980s.

A child was killed in a landmine explosion in Diyala province, northeastern Iraq earlier this week, The New Arab's Arabic-language service reported.

More than 500 children have been killed or injured by landmines and unexploded ordnance in Iraq in the past five years, according to the UN.

Iraq's environment ministry said last year that it had set 2028 as the deadline for the country to be cleared of mines.