War is a bloody business, where the most devastating weapons are used to take life. However, most of our leaders who take us into war will tell us that wars fought for reasons like oil, land and love, are not carried out to cause excessive hurt. To prove this, many countries have signed agreements to ban some of the most harmful weapons to prohibit them on the battlefield. Here are the Top 10 deadliest Weapons that are illegal.

Number 10: Biological Weapons

A biological weapon is a living organism like bacteria or viruses that can be used to cause death or disease on a huge scale. Biological weapons have long been used in wars. In the Middle Ages, bubonic plague victims who had died were thrown over walls in enemy lands in an attempt to spread the disease. Then, more recently in 2001, anthrax was delivered by mail to U.S. media and government offices, resulting in five deaths. Anthrax is one of the deadliest biological weapons in the world. It can be transmitted through skin contact or inhalation. Symptoms include fever, respiratory problems, fatigue, muscle aches, enlarged lymph nodes, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and black ulcers. It's treated with the use of antibiotics and it can be prevented with the use of vaccines. There are numerous more options for those looking to create a biological weapon, with the infectiousness being an important factor in determining how quickly the weapon can spread and cause harm. Obviously, these weapons are torturous for those infected, which is why in 1972 there was an international consensus to ban them, under the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. It prohibits the development, production, and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons, though it has no governing body to enforce compliance.

Number 9: Blinding Laser Beams

If you've ever played a science fiction video game or enjoy Star Wars, you'd be very familiar with laser beam weapons. But now, what was once science fiction has become reality. Thanks to a tone of money spent on research and development over the past few decades, laser beams have now become powerful enough to use on the battlefield, with devastating effects. The US Navy’s Laser Weapon System, (LAWS), looks like a small telescope. It can track a moving target and fire a steady laser beam strong enough to burn a hole through steel. With a weapon, made of light and not bullets, running out of ammunitions would be a distant possibility. Although they have just started to be viable, they have been banned preemptively because of their potential to blind combatants or civilians, which is seen as inhumane when compared to putting a bullet through their heads.

Number 8: Punji Sticks

Punji stick are sharpened pieces of bamboo, which are between one and two feet. Fire is used to harden the point to ensure they are extremely pointed for a long period of time. Poison or animal excreta are normally used to make the sticks far deadlier. Although their ability to cause hurt or even death was great, they were very simple to make. This meant that they were produced in great quantity during the Vietnam War, where they became known to the world. During the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong was at disadvantage against the better equipped American led forces. This strife lead to the creation of the punji sticks. Punji became so fearsome, that American soldiers were sometimes more fearful of losing their feet than getting shot. They were not designed to be fatal, but rather to seriously wound a soldier, so that one or two other soldiers would be needed to take the wounded soldier off the battlefield, thus getting of all three of them in one blow. Even if a solider were not wounded, he would be far too cautious in battle. Punji sticks are banned from use as weaponry under the 1980 Geneva Convention.

Number 7: Incendiary Weapons

Incendiary weapons are mass destruction beasts that produce fire through some type of chemical reaction. They are designed to burn or set fire to large areas, many of which contains civilians. There are over 180 types of incendiary weapons, with most famous being Napalm and white phosphorus. Napalm was use with harrowing effects during the Vietnam war. This lead to the inclusion of Incendiary weapons in the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons treaty. Actual flame, heat or chemical reactions weapons are banned under the treaty, which means flame throwers can only be used when civilians are not in an area. Despite the treaty, many nations are still producing, stockpiling and using. The U.S. is alleged to have used white phosphorus in Afghanistan and Iraq. Although it is not on the ban list, it is clearly being used an incendiary weapon.

Number 5: Brass Knuckles

Some people might see brass knuckles as a fashion statement, however, injuries from brass knuckles can be serious, as the weapons are composed of hardened material like brass, chrome, or hard plastic. Brass knuckles can inflict broken bones, cuts, concussions, and eye injuries. In World War I and II, brass knuckles were often attached to knives for use in trench warfare. They are legal in many states, but are outright banned in California, Michigan, Illinois and Vermont. Other states only ban metallic brass knuckles or apply age restrictions to ownership of them. However, most states classify brass knuckles as concealed weapons that require permits.

Number 6: Minimum Metal Mine

One of the most unexpected and brutal ways one can meet their end is by a landmine. One of the most horrifying type of landmines are those with non-detectable fragments. Even if a person is not killed by the mine, but a non-detectable fragment enters their body, they could still be in big trouble. This is because X-ray cannot detect these fragments and the surgeons are forced to operate blindly; searching through the patient’s body by hand. These mines are called minimum metal mine as they use the least amount of metal possible. The substitute for metal can be plastic, wood or glass; with only parts like the fuse using metal. Everyone agrees that minimum metal mines should be banned, however, most of the world also agrees that all mines should be banned. This was done through the treaty called Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction. Only 34 states are not signatories, including U.S.A. and Russia.

Number 4: Three-Sided Trench Knife

Trench knifes are designed to kill or gravely incapacitate an enemy soldier at close quarters. It was developed in response to a need for a close combat weapon for soldiers conducting assaults and raids on enemy trenchlines during World War 1. An example of a World War I trench knife is the German Army's Nahkampfmesser. The Axis, during World War 2 widely issued the Nahkampfmesser and designs developed from it to the ordinary soldier as general-purpose fighting and utility knives. The Allied armies restricted issue of trench knives to elite infantry units and infantry not otherwise equipped with the bayonet. These knifes are banded by the Geneva Convention because they left nasty wounds that couldn't be stitched up.

Number 3: Expanding Ordnance /Poisoned Bullets

Expanding Ordnances are projectiles that expand on impact, increasing in diameter to limit penetration to produce a faster incapacitation. One type of expanding ordnances is hollow point bullets. Otherwise called dum-dums, they were used by Olympian Oscar Pistorius to kill his girlfriend. Although they were legal for him to own, they were banned from international warfare in 1899. Police forces are still allowed to use them as they do not normally leave the body to injure bystanders. Expanding bullets are not the only banned ammo type; poison bullets are also banned. If someone is shot by a poison bullet, they not only have to worry about the wound, but also the possibility of a secondary infection. Lead is a type of poison bullet that is still used to hunt wild animals, though efforts are being made to ban that practice.

Number 2: Certain Bombs

In war, a bomb can be one of the most effective means of remove the enemies’ souls from their body. Bombs are a staple of war, but not all of them are welcomed. One such bomb is the cluster bomb. When they are exploded, they release many projectiles to injure or damage combatants and vehicles. In a 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, they were banned because they have a wide area of effect and more importantly they leave behind a large number of dangerous unexploded ordnances. Another banned bomb are dirty bombs, which are loaded with radioactive material. Due to the nuclear materials in them, they are not normally used in war as they turn the battlefield into a nuclear wasteland. Never less, they are banned by international war. The most destructive agent of war humans has ever created is the nuclear bomb. During the second World War, nuclear bombs were used for only first and second times ever on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These bombs killed a combined 200,000 people. The destructive potential of nuclear weapons has led to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, where only a hand full of nations are allows to stockpile them. Today, only Russia, France, China, the United Kingdom, U.S.A, Pakistan, India and Israel legally own nuclear weapons. A new treaty called the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, calls for a complete ban on nuclear weapons.

Number 1: Chemical Weapons

Chemical weapons are some of the most inhumane way you can take someone’s life. They are so hated, that many wars have been started on the guise of getting rid of them. One chemical weapon is mustard gas that was used in World War 1 to burn the skin of combatants. A gas mask could not protect against it and the long effects were brutal. Another dangerous gas is Sarin, which is colorless, tasteless and has no odor in its pure form. Symptoms includes runny nose, eye pain, drooling, excessive sweating and rapid breathing. Assad is alleged to have used it in 2017 to kill nearly 80 people. Phosgene was also widely used in the first World War, and was responsible for three-quarters of all gas fatalities. Its caused major lung damage and suffocation in its victim and death soon followed in many cases. Tear gas is a common utility for many people in modern times, however, it cannot be used in war like all other chemical weapons. At the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13, Kim Jong Un sent his assassins to kill his half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, using venomous agent x, VX, for short. VX is an extremely toxic synthetic thiophosphate. These agents severely disrupt the body's signaling between the nervous and muscular systems. This leads to a prolonged neuromuscular blockade, flaccid paralysis of all the muscles in the body and death by asphyxiation. It is banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993, where production and stockpiling of VX exceeding 100 grams per year is outlawed. VX can cause death in minutes, however, there exist another nerve agent that is five to eight times more potent that VX; it is called Novichok agent. They were developed by the Soviet Union is the 1970s and 1980s. Its main goals were to be undetectable by NATO, while bypassing NATO’s protective gear.

Do you think these banned weapons have made war any safer? Which of these weapons do you fear the most? Is there any other weapon you think should be banned? Or do you hate all weapons? Leave your answer in the comments section below.

Top 10 Weapons So Deadly They Are Prohibited