A landmine is an explosive charge deployed just under the surface of the land.  The main purpose of a landmine is to slow down large scale enemy advancement in war.  A landmine is either anti-personnel (AP), designed to maim or kill enemy troops advancing over a concentration of mines (known as a minefield), or anti-tank (AT), which are larger and are designed to damage or destroy armoured tanks. These can be placed on roads.  They can be operated by a pressure sensor, or sometimes in an AT mine, an electromagnetic sensor.  There are many other ingenious methods of landmine detonation.  Landmines are cheap, effective and easy to deploy making them a strong defense in conflicts where mobility is essential.    

The MON-50 anti-personnel mine is a Soviet version of the American M-18 Claymore, a directional fragmentation mine. The curved plate is filled with pellets or projectiles in front of the explosive charge. It can be mounted against a round surface such as a tree or can be placed on a small stand-alone stake.

The irregular shape and small size (about 9cm diameter) of the BPD-SB-33 scatterable anti-personnel mine make it particularly hard to locate. A hydraulic antishock device ensures that it cannot be detonated by explosions or artificial pressure. It is also exceptionally light, and can thus be carried and deployed in extremely large numbers by helicopters.

There are numerous variations of the PMR-2A or Pomz-2 anti-personnel stake mines, which are generally planted in clusters or rows of at least four units and are set off by an intricate system of tripwires.

This Vietnamese anti-personnel mine is about the size of a tennis ball, and can be mounted on a stake for use with a tripwire or buried just below the surface and set off by pressure.

Widely used in Afghanistan, the Soviet PFM-1 scatterable pressure-sensitive blast mine is also known as the "butterfly mine" because of its shape, which unfortunately attracts children who think it is a toy. It has been produced in various shades of brown, green and white. The PFM-1S version of this mine is one of the rare designs which includes a self-destruct mechanism. It explodes 24 hours after deployment.

The PMN mine contains a large amount of explosives, and the injuries it inflicts are often fatal. It is designed in such a way that it is practically impossible to neutralize. As a safety precaution for those laying this mine, a 15- 20-minute delay mechanism is activated when the mine is armed.

The OZM-4, a metalic bounding fragmentation mine.

Originally developed in World War II, the PMD-6 anti-personnel mine is a rudimentary pressure-activated blast device in a wooden box. It has been widely used in Cambodia. As the wood rots, the mine mechanism may shift, and the device often sets itself off or becomes inoperative.

Landmine photographs are the property of and used thanks to the courtesy of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

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