MAG destroyed a cache of more than 200 small arms and light weapons (SALW) weighing around 1.7 tons (1,542kg) near Sulaimaniyah on Saturday. The weapons were found about five kilometres away in Tangero, at a scrapyard through which children have to walk on their way to a school situated less than 100 metres away. The site, containing military and civilian scrap, is also located next to a government petrol store.

Overseeing the demolition - one of the largest MAG has conducted in the Sulaimaniyah area since opening an office there in November - were Deputy Team Leader of the Regional Reconstruction Team in Erbil, Jess Baily, and Director General of Mine Affairs in Sulaimaniyah, Haji Masifi.

Said Baily, the highest ranking US diplomat in the Kurdistan Region: "Destroying these weapons and munitions today means that they are unavailable to terrorist and criminal groups, and increases the safety of the people of Sulaimaniyah." Unsecured weapons caches and mines are a source of explosives for insurgents and other malevolent groups; by eliminating these explosives, MAG supports peace-building initiatives and makes the Sulaimaniyah area and Iraq safer.

The existence of the scrapyard had been reported to MAG Community Liaison staff 10 days earlier following an incident in which a child had thrown a mortar round onto a fire close to the school's football pitch. It had exploded but there had been no casualties.

As well as SALW including 100mm high explosive projectiles, plus 60mm, 81mm and 82mm mortars - unfired, fused and with safety pins in place, some in their original packaging - the site housed other items of UXO (unexploded ordnance) and AXO (abandoned explosive ordnance). These included self-propelled guns (SPGs), some of which had been tampered with and shaped charges and explosives removed, and a tank containing more than 30 HESH (high explosive squash head) rounds in perfect condition.

In all, more than 750 items from Tangero will be destroyed by MAG during February.

MAG has been working in Iraq since 1992. During 2007, 2,166,047 square metres of land was cleared and more than 48,600 explosive remnants of conflict destroyed. MAG teams destroy an average of one ton (907kg) of SALW every day across the country.

The work in Sulaimaniyah is supported by the Department of State's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (WRA). Central to MAG's conflict recovery operations, this partnership enables MAG to assist peace-building efforts in Iraq as well as continuing to help communities recover from conflict, and made possible the establishment of SALW teams in August 2007. WRA also supports SALW teams in Dohuk and Erbil governorates. To date, 3,834 tons (2,721kg) of conventional weapons (more than 660,000 items) have been destroyed by MAG in Iraq, with mines cleared from 25,000,000sq/m of land.

MAG opened its office in Sulaimaniyah in November after completing much of its work in the Chamchamal area. The office includes two SALW destruction teams, six mine clearance teams and five Community Liaison teams. The Community Liaison teams reach out to local people, both to teach risk mitigation techniques and to learn from the community about the locations of minefields and weapons caches.

Haji Masifi said: "This is not the first time that MAG has carried out demolitions of unexploded ordnance and mines in the Kurdistan Region. When companies inform us that they have found explosives, we refer them to MAG's demolition teams and make sure that the relevant parties are aware of the demolitions. Destroying mines and explosives rids the community of a cruel enemy."