U.S. Soldiers in Iraq Battle a Dangerous Foe Under the Ground—Land Mines

Aside from the booby traps, one major obstacle to demining is that no one knows where the minefields are. Iraqi Army doctrine called for emplacing minefields using Russian blueprints, which directed a regular space between mines and marking the edges of the field with barbed wire, according to U.S. Army engineers. But the Iraqis and Iranians often followed this formula only in part—some minefields were deliberately unmarked, while others were purposely marked incorrectly. Still others have shifted with the sands.

Few if any have retained their barbed-wire borders, and the wire has been strewn around the desert by the wind, creating further confusion about what lies where.

Even Captain Bradley's most sophisticated gear gives him only an idea where certain types of mines are located. There are Russian and Italian types, predominantly, some of which are made of plastic and thus invisible to metal detectors. Sometimes plastic mines are scattered among metal ones.

As Bradley and his engineers drive slowly through the minefields, they notice a collection of seven mines excavated from the ground on a rock. The mines were not there just the day before when the unit conducted a reconnaissance of the area, and they take a closer look. The mines in question are the Italian-made Valmara model 69, otherwise known as "Bouncing Betty." About the size of a coffee can with a spiked top, they are designed to shoot up from the ground to waist level and explode.

"Those were probably dug up by someone wanting to sell them to insurgents," says Bradley. "We'll have to come back tomorrow to deal with them."

• Click here to read about houses turned into bombs in Diyala.
• Click here to read more from Alex Kingsbury.