TIRANA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Albania's Armed Forces have deactivated 74 shells from the second World War (WWII) in a village around 60 km northwest of the capital Tirana, the country's Defense Minister Olta Xhacka said on Monday.
In a video message posted on the social network Facebook, Xhacka said that explosive ordinance disposal specialists of the Albanian Armed Forces found and deactivated the 150 mm caliber shells, each weighing around 50 kilogram, in the village of Manati in the Lezha region.
"The armed forces prevented a tragedy in Manati village. Our specialists removed from the inhabited area 74 shells (150 mm caliber) each with the weight of 50 kg," Xhacka wrote.
According to the Defense Ministry's preliminary analysis, the shells date back to WWII.
"So far this year the Albanian Armed Forces have conducted 75 operations around the country, destroying about 16 tons of dangerous ammunition," Xhacka added.