British Bomb Disposal Contractor Killed By IED

Northeast Syria A civilian British Bomb Disposal expert working under a U. S. State Department program clearing UXO and IEDs was killed by an accidental IED explosion. The bomb disposal technician was working for Tetra Tech under a grant through the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA) at the time of the accident.

The 41-year old bomb disposal expert, Chris Harris of Hockley, Essex, was a former British Army EOD specialist who served nearly 20 years in EOD as part of the Royal Engineers. Previous tours while on active duty included Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan before leaving the military in 2014.

Few details have been released about the incident but published reports suggest that Chris may have trigger an IED which was linked to infrared sensors. He planned on getting married next summer to his 34-year old fiancée.