Danger!

There are many, many types of antipersonnel landmines, but they can be put into five main groups.

The five main types of antipersonnel mines are:

ALL OF THESE MINES KILL CIVILIANS:

NONE OF THEM WILL STOP AN ARMY

BLAST MINES

These are the most common kind of mine. They explode when someone steps on them. Because it has a very large explosive charge, it often kills people. It was made by the former Soviet Union, by Iraq, and possibly by other countries as well.

The mine shown here is the variety that has probably killed more civilians than any other. The mine is designed so that it is almost impossible to make it safe.

COMMON: (adj) something that is widely used

FRAGMENTATION MINES

These mines have tripwires which lie a few centimetres above the ground. When someone walks into the wire, the mine shoots out hundreds of metal fragments at twice the speed of ordinary bullets.

Another way to use these mines is to tie them to poles or to trees. Fragmentation mines like the one in the picture are usually put together in groups.

They come from the former Soviet Union and, similar mines have been made by the former Czechoslovakia, the former Yugoslavia, China, Egypt and South Korea.

TRIPWIRE: (n) a thin wire that is tied between two places so that people will walk into it, without seeing it.

FRAGMENTS: (n) very small pieces

POLE: (n) a wooden or metal stick, standing upright in the ground

BOUNDING FRAGMENTATION MINES

These mines jump up into the air to about the height of a person's chest before they explode into fragments. They kill the person who sets them off and they can wound people over a wide area.

The mine shown here is activated by tripwires that are connected to its fuse prongs. if you stepped on it, you would also set it off.

It was mainly in Italy, and it has been widely used.

BOUNDING: to bound means to leap or jump

FUSE: (n) the mechanism that makes the mine explode

FUSE PRONGS: the pins sticking out of the top of the mine

DIRECTIONAL FRAGMENTATION MINES

These mines shoot out steel balls in one direction at high speed., They are set off by tripwires or by remote control. Some kinds can kill people from as far away as 200 metres.

Both the former Soviet Union and the USA make this kind of mine.

SCATTERABLE MINES

Scatterable mines do not need to be laid by hand; they can be scattered from aircraft or by artillery. They land on the ground without exploding. Some can even set up their own tripwires.

The mine in the picture was made in the former Soviet Union and it was widely used in Afghanistan. It is known as a 'butterfly' mine. It is designed to float gently to the ground.

SCATTER: means to drop something over a wide area.

SCATTERABLE (adj) describes something that can be scattered