Landmine Casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan

Landmines kill people. Landmines kill Americans, Iraqis, Afghanis, women, children and the elderly. Landmines do not discriminate.

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines estimates that there are 15,000 – 20,000 landmine casualties worldwide every year. Iraq and Afghanistan, two heavily mine-impacted countries, are clear examples of the threat landmines pose to both civilians and U.S. military personnel stationed there.

From 2003-2005, landmines have killed, maimed and injured at least 123 Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan. These landmines were laid by both previous governments and current non-state armed groups. In addition to landmines, much news attention is given to the dangers of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which are haphazardly-fashioned explosives that often function like typical landmines. The U.S. military reports more than 400 IED deaths in 2005¹, some of which were caused by landmine-like IEDs.

U.S. soldiers killed and injured by landmines in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2003 - 2005

Hundreds of civilians are killed every year by landmines in Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, the production of prosthetic limbs is one of the largest industries in Afghanistan. With 2,368 mine-impacted communities in Afghanistan, landmines are part of many peoples’ everyday lives. “Danger Mines” signs like the one at left, warning people to stay away from minefields, are ubiquitous throughout Iraq and Afghanistan. In conflict zones like Iraq and Afghanistan, accurate statistics on mine casualties are difficult to gather. The numbers below are confirmed casualties, but some estimates of actual casualties indicate more than 1,200 in Afghanistan and more than 7,000 in Iraq in 2004 alone.

Iraqis and Afghanis killed and injured by landmines in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004

1. As reported by the U.S. military and recorded by icasualties.org.
2. From Jan. to Aug. 2005, ICBL Landmine Monitor 2005 (http://www.icbl.org/lm/2005/usa)
3. ICBL Landmine Monitor 2005 (http://www.icbl.org/lm/2005/usa)
4. ICBL Landmine Monitor 2004 (http://www.icbl.org/lm/2004/usa)
5. Casualties of which the status is unknown are listed as injuries. ICBL Landmine Monitor 2005 (http://www.icbl.org/lm/2005/iraq, http://www.icbl.org/lm/2005/afghanistan)