'Faceless killer': Syria landmines keep sowing death In February 2019, Oqab and dozens of his relatives gathered in their home village in central Syria for a large outing that ended when a landmine exploded under their pick-up truck. The shelling and air strikes responsible for a large part of the Syria war's half million deaths have decreased in recent years. But explosive remnants laid by all sides in the 11-year-old conflict are causing more deaths in Syria than anywhere else in the world, according to the United Nations.