--- title: "ISIS is digging up Nazi land mines in Egypt to use for IEDs" date: "2018-04-02" modified: "2020-10-21" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/isis-is-digging-up-nazi-land-mines-in-egypt-to-use-for-ieds/" categories: - "History" - "War History" - "World War II" tags: - "ISIS" --- # ISIS is digging up Nazi land mines in Egypt to use for IEDs ![]() The European battlefields of WWII aren't the only ones littered with unspent ordnance. In fact, many claim Africa [may be the world's largest ]()[unexploded minefield](). --- The North African battlefields still have an estimated [17 million mines]() buried beneath the sands, [especially in Egypt](), where the Nazi Africa Korps fought Britain's 8th Army – including the legendary Second Battle of El Alamein, which turned the tide for the Allies on the continent. ![]() *A mine explodes close to a British artillery tractor as it advances through enemy minefields and wire to the new front line at the Second Battle of El Alamein. (Imperial War Museum photo)* Egypt even has a government minister dedicated to mine clearance. He has said more than 150 Bedouins have reported injuries and deaths from the mines since 2006. The dangerous areas also extend into modern-day Libya, where ISIS has a significant presence. Now, the Egyptian government says ISIS (and likely other groups) are digging up the old ordnance to use for improvised explosive devices and other weapons. Security has devolved since 2004, when the first attack using these relics killed 34 people in the resort town of Taba. ### RELATED: After 100 years World War I battlefields are poisoned and uninhabitable The most recent attack occurred on a road near the Red Sea in March and [killed five members of Egyptian security forces](). In Syria, rebels and ISIS forces are using whatever weapons are available. A Syrian rebel faction called the "al-Tawhid Brigade" stumbled on an arms cache of 5,000 [German WWII-era Sturmgwehr 44]() (STG-44) rifles. Another video posted to Facebook in April 2016 shows rebels using German Wehrmacht artillery. \[facebook https://www.facebook.com/FUNKER530/videos/1132879730096995/ expand=1\] [*Newsweek* also reports insurgents]() using the minefields as a safe haven from government security forces who will avoid the hazardous areas at all cost. All jihadis have to do is hire a local guide who knows the route in and out, making travel for anyone – from the Egyptian Army to foreign tourists – an uninviting thought. It's a troubling prospect for a country whose tourism revenues account for [an estimated 11 percent of its GDP](). The best solution, according to Ahmed Amer, head of the Land Mine Survivors Association, is for the World War II combatants to come pick up their toys. "They can't just come here and then go away," he told [*Newsweek*](). "They must clean this up." ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()