Improvised explosive device (IED)

From: Wikipedia

An improvised explosive device (IED; also known as a roadside bomb due to contemporary use) is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. One may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery round, attached to a detonating mechanism. IEDs may be used in terrorist actions or in unconventional warfare by guerrillas or commando forces in a theater of operations. In the 2003–present Iraq War, IEDs have been used extensively against coalition forces and by the end of 2007 they had become responsible for approximately 40% of coalition deaths in Iraq.[1] They are also the weapon of choice for insurgent groups in the 2001–present Afghanistan War.[2] They were also used extensively by cadres of the rebel Tamil Tiger (LTTE) organization against military and civilian targets in Sri Lanka[3][4] before the LTTE was dismantled in mid 2009 by the Sri Lankan military forces.

Background

The term Improvised Explosive Device comes from the British Army in the 1970s, after the Irish Republican Army (IRA) used bombs made from agricultural fertilizer and semtex smuggled from Libya to make highly effective booby trap devices, remote controlled or bombs using command wires. An IED is a bomb fabricated in an improvised manner incorporating destructive, lethal, noxious, pyrotechnic, or incendiary chemicals and designed to destroy or incapacitate personnel or vehicles. In some cases, IEDs are used to distract, disrupt, or delay an opposing force, facilitating another type of attack. IEDs may incorporate military or commercially-sourced explosives, and often combine both types, or they may otherwise be made with home made explosives (HME). An IED typically consists of an explosive charge (potentially assisted by a booster charge), a detonator, and an initiation system, which is a mechanism that initiates the electrical charge that sets off the device. An IED designed for use against armored targets such as personnel carriers or tanks will also include some form of armor penetrator, typically consisting of a copper rod or cone, propelled by the shaped explosive load. IEDs are extremely diverse in design, and may contain many types of initiators, detonators, penetrators, and explosive loads. Antipersonnel IEDs typically also contain shrapnel-generating objects such as nails or ball bearings (known as shipyard confetti after the metal waste found in the shipyards of Belfast). IEDs are triggered by various methods, including remote control, infra-red or magnetic triggers, pressure-sensitive bars or trip wires. In some cases, multiple IEDs are wired together in a daisy-chain, to attack a convoy of vehicles spread out along a roadway. IEDs made by inexperienced designers or with substandard materials may fail to detonate, and in some cases actually detonate on either the maker or the emplacer of the device (these unintended early detonations are known as pre-detonations or "own goals" if the placer is killed in the detonation). Some groups, however, have been known to produce sophisticated devices that are constructed with components scavenged from conventional munitions and standard consumer electronics components, such as mobile phones, washing machine timers, pagers, or garage door openers. The sophistication of an IED depends on the training of the designer and the tools and materials available. IEDs may use artillery shells or conventional high-explosive charges as their explosive load as well as homemade explosives. However, the threat exists that toxic chemical, biological, or radioactive (dirty bomb) material may be added to a device, thereby creating other life-threatening effects beyond the shrapnel, concussive blasts and fire normally associated with bombs. Chlorine liquid has been added to IEDs in Iraq, producing clouds of chlorine gas. A vehicle borne IED, or VBIED, is a military term for a car bomb or truck bomb. These are typically employed by suicide bombers, and can carry a relatively large payload. They can also be detonated from a remote location. VBIEDs can create additional shrapnel through the destruction of the vehicle itself, as well as using vehicle fuel as an incendiary weapon. Of increasing popularity among insurgent forces in Iraq is the HBIED or House Borne IED, coming out of the common military practice of clearing houses, insurgents will rig an entire house to detonate and collapse shortly after a clearing squad has entered.

Picture 1: Munitions rigged for an IED discovered by Iraqi police in Baghdad in November 2005

Picture 2: This Cougar was hit in Al Anbar, Iraq by a directed charge IED approximately 300-500 lbs in size. All crew members survived the blast and went out the next day.