36 Sunday Mail December 20, 2020 email [email protected] web www.sundaymail.co.uk Sunday Mail December 20, 2020 37 WORKER ON DODGING MISSILE ATTACKS IN RACE TO REMEMOVE DEADLY EXPLOSIVES FROM BATTLEGROUNDS MINES,S, ROCKEtSROCKET AND REvENGE

IN THELETHALE KILLING FIELDSBULLET OF IRAq LIFESAVEERS The HALO team. Right, Rest of caption in here thanks ■ Derek Alexander WEAPON Ain al-Asasad US military base, where very much pleasecxgzyucgxzuy cgxyzug Iranian missile Frankank was stationed, after Iran A charity worker leading the fight to found by launched counter strikes clear deadly landmines in Iraq has told Frank’s team how he dodged Iranian missiles after an army general linked to terror attacks was assassinated. Frank Philip has spent the year avoiding danger in the war-ravaged state while clearing explosives with the HALO Trust. SUPPORT But the Montrose-born ex-serviceman found Diana raises himself in the line of fire when Tehran tried to awareness avenge the death of powerful Qasem Solemani, of plight who was killed in a US drone strike. The 61-year-old revealed how some of his team drove past the smoking wreckage of Solemani’s convoy after it had been destroyed at Baghdad airport in January. implementing the military response in A final crusade Iran soon started launching their own rockets to the firefighters’ strike in 2002. into the region, forcing Frank to relocate. Ex-soldier’s heroic work in countryy scarredsc by war He’s been based in Baghdad as HALO’s Frank, who is now in the Kurdish region of Iraq, for brave Diana province and at Erbil airport, right beside where where we are operating. We paid very close we’vewe’v removed the threat of over 1000 explosive programme manager since 2017. said: “It has been an unusual year for us. Over the past year his HALO team has cleared Princess Diana launched the HALO Trust’s “We had a bad start with the Iranian-American I am at the moment. attention to the security situation but we haven’t weapons.weap The standards of IED we are pulling out “That wasn’t expected and made for a fun start yet had to suspend our operations because we work the groundg are like a 20-litre jerry can with a fuse, 750,000 square metres using armoured machines, landmine campaign in Angola. tensions over the death of Major General Qasem destroying IEDs and unexploded grenades, Raising awareness of the threat posed by Soleimani. of the year for us. closely with the Iraqi authorities.” a powerpo source, and a switch, which is a “To be fair, I didn’t even notice but my daughter Former army hero Frank is HALO’s programme mortar bombs and artillery shells. the devices was her last crusade before she “Some of my guys actually drove past the pressurepress plate normally. died in a Paris car crash in 1997. burning vehicles, coming out of the airport after phoned me up in the middle of the night and told manager in Baghdad. The charity, based in “They“Th are designed to make a big bang and He said: “I think one of the most spectacular things that happened this year was on July 4. Her son Prince Harry retraced her footsteps returning from their Christmas leave. me I’d been attacked.” Thornhill, near Dumfries, started in the if somethingsom that size detonates underneath last year and wore the same body armour and “We’d been instructed not to go Solemani was head of the Revolutionary Guard region in 2018 and this year passed the milestone you, there’s only one result. “Our villa is right in the centre of protective visor she did. into Baghdad because the Corps’ ruthless Quds Force. Under his leadership, of clearing over 1000 deadly traps, including “You“Yo see a lot of limbless people in Iraq, mostly Baghdad, and I was sitting at my desk and He detonated a landmine in Dirico, in the Iranians had vowed to respond, it had directed terror attacks on US and UK troops 700 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and to do withw violence over the last 30 years. there was this sound like a jet going south-east of the country. so we made the decision to throughout the Middle East. 400 unexploded grenades and mortars. “A youngy shepherd was killed close to where we overhead and then it just stopped. The Duke of Sussex also met a landmine relocate to Erbil in the north. Frank said his death signalled an escalation in They reached the landmark figure despite their are workingw in Ramadi earlier this year, and five “The Americans were test firing the new victim who reduced Diana to tears during her “Of course, no sooner had we attacks on US bases in the area. work being suspended because of coronavirus. childrenchild playing with a mortar bomb in Fallujah C-RAM system – a counter rocket, artillery trip to the country, torn apart by a civil war. got here than the Iranians He added: “It was bad for a long period of Frank said: “Covid restrictions have meant our were killedk close to one of our sites last year.” and mortar defence designed to shoot The woman revealed she had named a launched their ballistic time. There were constant attacks against operations have been a bit stop-start. TheTh UK Government is a key donor to the UN down any incoming missiles. daughter after his late mother. contractors for the US troops, with logistic “All our operations were suspended when the “I’m sure there was no accident about the missile strikes against Mine ActionA Service’s demining efforts in Iraq, EMOTIONAL Prince American bases in Anbar convoys getting hit on the main supply routes. Iraqi government put the country into lockdown. havinghavi provided £15.7million since 2018. date and it made for some 4th of July fireworks “There was a lot of indirect fire happening – “We kept people in place during the height of the BritishBr aid is supporting all three of HALO’s display all afternoon. Harry retraces his usually rockets, rather than mortars. There’s no pandemic so that when we did get the green light deminingdem projects in Iraq’s Anbar province. “Maybe it was just as well because actually mother’s steps in 2019 getting around it is a hostile environment. to go back to work in mid-June, we could do so with Dad-of-threeDa Frank served 30 years in the army that night there was a rocket attack on the You’ve also still got the remnants of IS causing the minimum of delay. with regimentsr including the Gordon Highlanders. Green Zone and the C-RAM system was trouble not far away from some of the areas “And despite the stop-start nature of this year, He wasw awarded an MBE in 2004 for planning and effective and brought the rockets down.”

HOTBED Shia Muslims mourn after killing of general, World leader with above. Top, his bombed car in a lifesaving remit flames on the road. Right HALO was founded in in 1988 Frank Philip and works in 27 countries and states. Some 8000 people worldwide are killed and injured by landmines and other explosive devices, 78 per cent of them civilians. The UK Government has I didn’t committed £272million in even notice. humanitarian support to Iraq since 2014, providing health- My daughter care services to over 4.3million called to tell people, and safe drinking water, me I’d been toilet and shower facilities to PROUD more than 3.5million people. attacked The Foreign, Commonwealth Cleverly & Development Office has spent £16.9million to help Iraq respond to coronavirus. Minister for the Middle East James Cleverly said: “HALO Trust is a Scottish charity that is a RUTHLESS world leader in demining. I am proud that the UK Solemani Government is working with it to help rid Iraq of these deadly explosives.”