Last week an oxfam water engineer discovered 5 rocketpropelled grenades and five antitank mines in the air vent of an underground pipe. In the last 20 years, over 150,000 afghans have been killed or maimed by landmines, with threequarters of these children. A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. The train was on its way from cumbria to oxfordshire, but had stopped at a red light. Landmines in afghanistan afghanistan is among the countries most severely affected by landmines and unexploded ordnance uxo. Next, the taliban put antitank mines at the bottom of the statues, so that as rocks fell from artillery fire they would set off the mines.
Afghanistan, among the countries with a landmine problem, is one of the worst effected and, so far, over two hundred thousand people have been killed or seriously injured by mines. Bombing kills dozens and hurts schoolchildren as taliban. Control of mines technical solutions self neutralisation sn for sophisticated and high value mines. The p2 mk2 has a square case with a central circular ribbed pressure plate, the p3 is circular with a central circular pressure plate. Taliban build base inside pakistan world news the guardian. Increased funding for mineclearance work in afghanistan and. The artillery fire damaged the statues severely but didnt destroy them. In this wednesday, may 24, 2017, photo, deminers from the halo trust demining organization collect antitank mines to be destroyed on the outskirts of kabul, afghanistan. Female soldier reflects on injuries, military service. Talibans tankkilling bombs came from us, not iran huffpost. Remote control sn or sd can be achieved by time delay or remote control. It gave the americans no end of trouble during gulf 1 when the iraqis used them. It uses either a pressure fuze or tiltrod, which is screwed into the top. High quality replica of the m1 antitank mine, as used by the us in ww2.
Counterterrorism police are hunting for a consignment of anti tank mines stolen from a train. The xm93 hornet mine is an american antitank mine, it is a widearea mine, capable of attacking targets up to 100 meters away from its position. In march 2019, unmas afghanistan, with the generous contribution from the government of japan and through its partners, the halo trust and dacaar, implemented a humanitarian demining project in zhari. Landmines in war and peace and millions of other books are available for. Antivehicle landmines are designed to explode when at least 200 kilograms of pressure is applied or when a car, jeep, truck or tank drives over them. The talibs most forward position is a ridge littered with large shell casings, unexploded rockets, dugup antitank mines, and thousands of 12.
Both mines use antipersonnel mines as the fuse, typically the either the p4 mk1 or p2 mk2 antipersonnel mines. Mines pose a big danger to refugees returning home by passing through. A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy. In the first 11 months of 2001 there were 764 casualties. There was also widespread use of antitank mines, which have the capacity to destroy vehicles of any size and kill and injure dozens of victims.
We have all read books about the march up, nasiriyah, operation phantom fury, and the numerous seal team and oda raids that happened in the country. The p2 mk2 and p3 mk2 are pakistani plastic cased minimum metal antitank blast mines. Army is trying to develop new land mines ones that dont harm civilians a mineclearing line charge being detonated during livefire training at fort irwin in california, october. The telegraph uk reports that afghan border police have seized antitank mines and mortars sent from iran to militants fighting natoled forces. In addition to farmable land, power lines, roads, bridges, railroads, and airports, even schools, factories and cattle dip tanks were mined. With more than 41,000 profiles, janes offers the only single resource for comprehensive, unclassified and uptodate intelligence on military equipment air, sea, land and space in production and. List of books and articles about landmines online research. Since 1992 140,000 antipersonnel mines, 3,000 antitank mines, and 650,000 explosives have been cleared from 90 million square meters of land. A senior commander of an afghanistan militant organization has been arrested after canadian forces determined that at least one antitank mine caused the explosion that killed two canadian. In 2010, over 63,000 us troops were on the ground in afghanistan. The devastation caused by mines in mozambique is striking. Terror police hunt for antitank mines stolen from train. The mine is composed of a main charge and central booster in the plastic casing of the mine body, with a fuze assembly which screws onto the top.
The army has been working on a new model of antivehicle mines that could. Self destruct sd for those difficult to detect or clear. The tm46 mine is a large, circular, metalcased soviet antitank mine. How the talibans destruction of giant buddha statues led. Army is trying to develop new land mines ones that. According to casualty data on the website of the canadian forces, since the beginning of 2007, 57 of 81 deaths of canadian troops in afghanistan. Mines as we know them today were actually developed during world war ii 1939 45 and put to wide use, principally as an antitank device. And dont you love it when diplomats talk like this. Two arrested over antitank mines stolen from freight train in cheshire this article is more than 7 years old packages believed to contain munitions used by british troops in. Sue downes lost both of her legs after the truck she was traveling in hit antitank mines in afghanistan.
A shipment of powerful antitank mines have been stolen from a goods train. The tanks of today are much better equipped to deal with urban combat than the tanks that were used in afghanistan in the 1980s. The 15pound charge of tnt, wrote elliot in the tc6, he wrote, could flip a tank the way a seagull flips a baby turtle. Complete news and information about books, publishers, booksellers, and authors for readers, researchers, and collectors of books about the second world war.
Ten packages containing landmine parts which were due to be sent to afghanistan were snatched from the freight train when it stopped in warrington. Antitank mines with this type of fuze were capable of inflicting much more damage to armored vehicles. Two arrested over antitank mines stolen from freight. The british museum will return these war trophies to. Such a device is typically detonated automatically by way of pressure when a target steps on it or drives over it, although other detonation mechanisms are also sometimes used. The random dissemination of landmines began in the 1960s.
Around me is an assortment of heavy and light weapons and i am cautioned not to stand up for too long or step off the path. These mines feature a distinctive cross shaped pressure spider. Humanitarian mine action actors in afghanistan have cleared more than 18 million items of erw, some 737,000 antipersonnel ap mines, including 760. The americans used mine ploughs to clear mines and because of their shape barmines would fit through the tines and secure at least a mobility kill on the. State department estimates landmineunexploded ordnancerelated casualties at over 2,400 during the year 2000 and that nearly 948 square kilometers of land had been landmineuxocontaminated. A used soft cover ww2 canadian anti tank mines military training pamphlet no. Milestones in humanitarian mine action us department of state. Antitank mine killed canadians, afghan commander arrested. While the original mines were antitank mines, antipersonnel mines were developed to prevent enemy forces from reusing or removing antitank mines. Understanding landmines and mine action september 2003 prepared by robert keeley page 4 antitank at mines the main difference between an ap and at mines is that an at mine is much larger and filled with more explosive, hence making it able to defeat a tank.
British writer jason elliot, who has traveled extensively in afghanistan since 1979, reported in a 2001 book minding afghanistan that the italianmade tc6 was the most commonly used antitank mine used in afghanistan. Many of the things looted in the chaos of these two conflicts may never be seen again. A larger version, tc6, uses the same system with a heavier charge see following entry. With most of the uks stock of antitank barmines either expired or used for explosive means of entry emoe in afghanistan there is somewhat of a dilemma when it comes to the return to contingency, or conventional combined arms combat. Tc6 antitank mines war in afganistan 19791989 youtube. The impact of antivehicle mines in afghanistan the halo trust. The mujahedin laid 260 antitank mines for russian tanks. Tm46 antitank mine with the arming pin still in place. Afghans who scratch out a living by removing some of the countrys countless land mines have long had to contend with rugged terrain, accidental explosions and the threat. The pfm1s version incorporates a selfdestruct mechanism. Atc staff, while performing their duties in one of the most hazardous tasks, worked hard so that afghanistan could welcome back millions of its citizens, who had been forced to leave for fear of losing their lives or limbs due to. The mujahidin, made much use of anti tank mines to destroy tanks, apcs or other military vehicles as well. The reality is that even as you read this account, a new crop of antipersonnel and antitank mines are being sewn under the sands of this tortured nation. Ww2 canadian anti tank mines military training pamphlet.
In the mountains, tanks have been confined to roads and areas that have been cleared of mines. Ghosts in the fish market a marines story from barwanah. The mine was triggered when enough downward pressure was placed on the spider, with the threshold set around 226kg. An antitank mine abbreviated to at mine is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armored fighting vehicles compared to antipersonnel mines, antitank mines typically have a much larger explosive charge, and a fuze designed only to be triggered by vehicles or, in some cases, tampering with the mine. The afghan government has committed to clearing the avm contamination through its obligations to the antipersonnel mine ban treaty and has included avm. Thieves are thought to have snatched the mines, used by british troops in afghanistan, when the train was forced to stop.
Total of 20 pages, with lots of information and pictures. A spokesman for the british embassy said iran could play a positive role in afghanistan, but support for the taliban was completely unacceptable. Anti tank mines can be very useful in a variety of possible scenarios and the barmine was one of the very best. Referring results of land clearance to be registered in the property and tax books for the. A comprehensive ban on the production, possession, transfer and use of antipersonnel mines. Mine situation in afghanistan afghanistan reliefweb. A comprehensive ban on the production, possession, transfer and use of anti personnel mines. Mujahideen8 forces used antivehicle mines in order to block the movement of russian and. These mines were large, clumsy and easily redeployed by the opposing forces and often relaid against the tanks belonging to the original mine layers. Janes military platforms and defence equipment intelligence.
In the mountains, tanks have been confined to roads and areas that have been cleared of mines and explosives. What isnt in the museum is spread out across roughly 1,000 square miles of the country. Insurgents placed over 14,000 ieds not including the unknown number of. Major military and civilian positions were mined, including the cities of herat, kandahar, jalalabad and khost. Talibans tankkilling bombs came from cia, not iran. Though the ieds used against american soldiers in iraq and afghanistan are. Three quarters of all mine victims are civilians and one third are children under the age of fifteen. Landmines, livelihoods and postconflict land rights reliefweb. The barmine layers are currently being disposed of. Female soldier reflects on injuries, military service in november 2006, army spc. Throughout the war, tanks have not been used very much. When stepped on it leaps 45 cm into the air, and shatters into more than metal splinters, causing casualties within a 25 meter radius.
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