Afghanistan’s Kinetic Action

A suicide bomber hit a NATO convoy in October in southern Afghanistan.
Allauddin Khan/Associated Press (New York Times)

From Stars And Stripes:

Taliban spreading more sophisticated explosives across contested southern region

MAIWAND DISTRICT, Afghanistan — Taliban fighters have turned increasingly to roadside bombs and other deadly tactics to combat U.S. soldiers and other NATO-led troops in southern Afghanistan, military officials say.

In one particularly lethal incident, a roadside bomb on Friday killed three U.S. soldiers when it struck their Humvee during a patrol in Zabul province. A day earlier, a suicide bomber killed two U.S. soldiers and wounded nine others while they were on patrol in Hutal, the district center of this hotly contested region 40 miles west of the provincial capital of Kandahar.

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My Comment: In Iraq, when the IED problem started to spiral out of control, coalition forces started to test everyone for explosive residue on their hands. This proved to be a very effective way to track and monitor suspects .... tracking that eventually led to bomb making cells and their experts.

I would not be surprised if the same technique will start to be applied to Afghanistan (if not already).