They may be planted in the ground by hand or scattered over a wide area by airplane or helicopter. Land mines are plentiful. Over 100 million are scattered over the earth, another 100 million have been stockpiled, and 5 million more are produced annually by manufacturers in over 30 countries. In most cases land mines remain active, and thus deadly, for many years. They are often called hidden killers, weapons of mass destruction in slow motion, or the soldier that never sleeps.
Land mines come in different shapes, sizes, and colors.
There are at least 350 types of land mines currently in use. They are light weight and small enough to be easily handled by children. Land mines are nondiscriminatory. Anything or anyone that detonates a mine becomes its victim. They kill both enemy and ally.