Special Bosnia Report...
On Thursday in northern Bosnia, two American soldiers were wounded when a land mine exploded. One of the soldiers suffered injuries to his right foot and other was able to walk away from the blast with shrapnel wounds to his lower leg. The incident happened at about 2:30 p.m. (0930 EST) in the town of Hadizici, which is located about ten miles southeast of Tuzla.
NATO issued a statement about the incident. The statement said, "Two American engineers were injured by an anti-personnel mine as they were conducting a joint inspection of a minefield with the Bosnian Serb Army. One soldier stepped on an anti-personnel mine, incurring injuries to one foot."
Concerns have been raised by ERRI and any number of other sources in regard to the dangers of landmines and other improvised explosive devices in Bosnia. According to UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund), Bosnia has one of the highest densities of landmines per square mile of anyplace in the world. UNICEF says that more than 1,800,000 mines may have been laid in Bosnia during the recent years of ethnic conflict. More troublesome to NATO troops than traditional mines, which are made metal (and pictured above), are mines with plastic cases or improvised mines made from wooden cases and high explosives. The wood and plastic mines are far more difficult to detect with conventional mine detectors.
And true to Admiral Smith's words -- French NATO forces later killed a sniper in the suburb where most of the shooting incidents have occurred. A NATO statement said, "One gunman was located by the French Special Forces and was later neutralized. This person was seriously wounded. He later died of his injuries in spite of the intervention from a military physician. Another armed civilian was also apprehended by our forces. This individual was disarmed without any bloodshed."
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