FILE- In this March 22, 2017, file photo, a Federal Police stands next to unexploded bombs left by Islamic State group militants on the western side of Mosul, Iraq. On Thursday, Aug. 17, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said for the first time that the American military will help contractors and other officials locate unexploded bombs dropped by the coalition. U.S. Embassy officials have asked the coalition to declassify grid coordinates for bombs dropped in Iraq to help clear the explosives. The coalition's unexploded bombs are only a small part of Mosul's problems. The bulk of the explosives have been hidden by IS fighters to be triggered by the slightest movement, even picking up a seemingly innocent children's toy, lifting a vacuum cleaner, or opening an oven door. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
FILE- In this March 22, 2017, file photo, a Federal Police stands next to unexploded bombs left by Islamic State group militants on the western side of Mosul, Iraq. On Thursday, Aug. 17, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said for the first time that the American military will help contractors and other officials locate unexploded bombs dropped by the coalition. U.S. Embassy officials have asked the coalition to declassify grid coordinates for bombs dropped in Iraq to help clear the explosives. The coalition's unexploded bombs are only a small part of Mosul's problems. The bulk of the explosives have been hidden by IS fighters to be triggered by the slightest movement, even picking up a seemingly innocent children's toy, lifting a vacuum cleaner, or opening an oven door. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File) Credit: Felipe Dana

Baghdad — The top U.S. commander in Iraq said on Thursday that for the first time the American military will help contractors and other officials locate unexploded bombs dropped by the coalition on Mosul in the wake of a siege against the Islamic State.

U.S. Embassy officials have asked the coalition to declassify grid coordinates for bombs dropped in Iraq to help clear the explosives.

It may not be that simple, Gen. Stephen Townsend told a small group of reporters, “but we’ll find a way through that.”

The coalition’s unexploded bombs are only a small part of Mosul’s problems. The bulk of the explosives have been hidden by Islamic State fighters to be triggered by the slightest movement, even picking up a seemingly innocent children’s toy, lifting a vacuum cleaner or opening an oven door. The effort could continue wreaking destruction on Iraq’s second largest city even as IS was defeated after a nine-month battle.

U.S. Embassy officials and contractors hired to root out the hidden explosives use the same words to describe the devastation in western Mosul: Historic. Unprecedented. Exponentially worse than any other place.

“We use broad terms like historic because when you enter a dwelling, everything is suspect,” said the team leader in northern Iraq for Janus Global Operations, a contracting company hired to find and remove hidden explosive devices and unexploded bombs from Iraqi cities recaptured from the Islamic State group. “You can’t take anything at face value.”

Some estimates suggest it may take 25 years to clear West Mosul of explosives. The bomb-removing team leader said those understate what is sure to be a long, enduring problem.