British sapper killed while defusing bomb in Iraq

Aug 22, 2016 | 6:00 AM

BAGHDAD — An American demining firm says a British contractor was killed while defusing an explosive device in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi.

The firm, Janus Global Operations, announced the death Monday without providing further details. The British Embassy in Baghdad confirmed the incident.

The demining firm began operations in Ramadi in April, after Iraqi forces liberated the city from the Islamic State group, which left behind thousands of explosive devices.

Dozens of Iraqi civilians have been killed by explosions while trying to return to their homes in the city, much of which was destroyed in the fighting.