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Summary:
Since October 2001, improvised explosive devices (IEDs, roadside bombs, and suicide car bombs) have been responsible for many of the more than 3,000 combat deaths in Iraq and many of the more than 240 combat deaths in Afghanistan.1 Vehicleborne 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. However, insurgents quickly adapt to countermeasures, and new, more sophisticated IEDs are increasingly being used in both Iraq and 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.2 This report will be updated as events warrant.
