Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Iraq and Afghanistan: Effects and Countermeasures

Abstract

Since October 2001, improvised explosive devices (IEDs, roadside bombs, and suicide car bombs) have been responsible for many of the combat deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. Vehicle-borne IEDs and car bombs are now used to strike police stations, markets, and mosques, killing local citizens as well as U.S. troops. U.S. forces counter the devices through utilizing intelligence sources, and by disrupting portions of the radio spectrum that insurgents use to trigger IEDs. Insurgents quickly adapt to countermeasures, and new, more sophisticated IEDs are increasingly being used in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Recent trends show a decrease in the number of IED attacks in Iraq since June 2007, but an increase in the number of effective IED attacks in Afghanistan. Department of Defense (DOD) officials have also charged that Iran may be supplying new IED technology to insurgents in Iraq. There is growing concern that IEDs might eventually be used by other insurgents and terrorists worldwide. This report will be updated as events warrant.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 21, 2007
Accession Number
ADA475029

Entities

People

  • Clay Wilson

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter IED
  • Electronic Warfare
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Sensors
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Afghanistan
  • Countermeasures
  • Department Of Defense
  • Detectors
  • Electronic Warfare
  • Explosive Devices
  • Explosively Formed Penetrators
  • Explosives
  • Improvised Explosive Devices
  • Jammers
  • Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy
  • Munitions
  • Terrorists
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices
  • Warfare
  • Weapons

Readers

  • Munitions and Ordnance Engineering
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.