IED Casualties Surge in Afghanistan

Afghan Army personnel destroying an IED. Al Jazeera Photo

Foreign Policy: Pentagon Report: IED Casualties Surge in Afghanistan

Roadside bomb attacks are falling overall, except in Afghanistan.

Improvised explosive devices have plagued the U.S. military and its allies since the earliest days of the fight against terrorism, leading the Pentagon at one point to declare a “Manhattan Project” to battle the homemade bombs. Now, 16 years later, the number of IED deaths and injuries is falling overall among countries under U.S. Central Command’s authority, but not in Afghanistan.

Some 3,043 people were killed or injured by IEDs in 1,143 incidents in Afghanistan between the beginning of April and the end of June of this year, according to internal slides from the Department of Defense obtained by Foreign Policy.

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WNU Editor: Just more evidence that the war in Afghanistan continues to escalate.

Taliban IED Attacks Against US Troops Has Decreased But It Has Increased Against Afghan Forces

Image: RonTech2000/iStock

Fewer IED Attacks On U.S. Troops But Still Deadly -- USA Today

The good news on the IED front in Afghanistan is that it's no longer a huge story.

Attacks from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) dropped 19% for the three-month period that ended on July 31. And U.S. troops continue to find and defuse bombs better than ever. Soldiers and Marines on foot patrol now find 85% of makeshift bombs compared with 80% last year.

The bad news? Roadside bombs remain the top threat to U.S. troops, causing 61% of all casualties. It's worse for Afghan security forces, who have seen attacks on them increase 74%. That compares with the same period in 2012. Stats come courtesy of the Joint IED Defeat Organization.

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My Comment: This is a problem that is unfortunately going to be with Afghanistan long after this conflict is finally over.

The Afghan Taliban Are Stepping Up Their IED Campaign

U.S. Army soldiers inspect the scene after an IED blast during a road clearance patrol in Logar province, Afghanistan. Reuters

With Drawdown, Insurgents Launching Deadlier IED Attacks -- Army Times

WASHINGTON — The shrinking U.S. combat role in Afghanistan has given insurgents an opening to devise and carry out deadlier attacks using bigger improvised bombs against U.S. and coalition military vehicles and bases, American officials say.

With fewer U.S. forces patrolling road networks beyond their bases — and with the grounding of eye-in-the-sky surveillance balloons known as aerostats — Taliban fighters are adapting their tactics, according to officials at a Pentagon agency that tracks attacks that use improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.

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My Comment: Less patrols means more opportunities and time for the Taliban to plan and stage attacks. I do not only expect these attacks to escalate as the draw-down continues, but also full frontal attacks against FOBs.

Update: 3 Fort Stewart soldiers killed in Afghanistan blast -- Army Times

Has Fraud In Afghanistan's Anti-IED Program Resulted IN U.S. Soldiers Being Killed?

Shown here is a 'culvert denial system' -- a drainage grate meant to help prevent bomb attacks. (Special IG for Afghanistan Reconstruction)

Botched Anti-IED System May Be Linked To US Soldier Deaths In Afghanistan, Report Finds -- FOX News

WASHINGTON – A program designed to protect U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan by covering roadside drains with thick metal to prevent insurgents from planting bombs was plagued by shoddy and incomplete workmanship -- and may have actually contributed to the deaths of American Marines, according to an internal report.

Millions of U.S. dollars have been spent on thousands of so-called "culvert denial systems" since 2009, but a scathing report released Tuesday by the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction says hundreds of the devices were never installed or installed improperly. The report said an investigation has been launched “into whether this apparent failure to perform may have been a factor in the death or injury of several U.S. soldiers.”

The investigation has led to two arrests so far -- an Afghan contractor and a sub-contractor. The men, who were paid $1 million by the U.S. government to install 250 culvert denial systems, didn’t install the devices as promised. The ones they did install were installed incorrectly, according to the report.

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More News On Afghanistan's Anti-IED System Being Responsible For US Soldier Deaths In Afghanistan

Report Links Failed Afghan Project to Soldiers’ Deaths -- New York Times
Fraud fouls up fight against IEDs in Afghanistan -- USA Today
No proof U.S. life-saving anti-IED program ever implemented in Afghanistan -- Washington Times
Are Troops Being Protected From Roadside Bombs in Afghanistan? -- National Journal
Report: Contract waste and fraud in Afghanistan put troops at risk -- CNN
Afghanistan Reconstruction: U.S. Soldiers At Risk Because Of Private Contractors' Fraud, SIGAR Warns -- Huffington Post

How Many Afghan Taliban Does It Take To Make A Roadside Bomb (And Fail While Doing It)

Afghan Taliban IEDs. Photo from ISAF

16 Taliban Wounded In Farah -- ISAF Facebook

Thursday, June 06, 2013

16 Taliban were wounded while a making roadside bomb in Farah province.

Nangyalai police spokesman of Farah said, the wounded Taliban belonged to Qari Toorkhan a senior commander of Taliban in Farah province. They were wounded while making a roadside bomb inside of a house which exploded and wounded them.

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My Comment: 16 wounded !!!! This looks like a bomb making classroom packed with Taliban that went all bad.

Stopping The Fertilizer Trade That Builds IEDs In Afghanistan

Pakistani Fertilizer Grows Both Taliban Bombs And Afghan Crops -- Christian Science Monitor

The Pakistani government is working with the US to make sure a key ingredient for bombs stays away from insurgents in Afghanistan, but that effort may be having an unintended casualty.

The Pakistani government and the region's largest fertilizer manufacturer are working with the United States to play a more active role in making sure a key ingredient for homemade bombs stays out of the hands of insurgents in Afghanistan, but that effort may be having an unintended consequence.

Homemade bombs are the weapon of choice for insurgents in Afghanistan. The Pentagon says there were 14,500 improvised explosive device (IED) attacks in 2012, up 56 percent from 2009. The bombs killed 868 Afghan civilians and 312 coalition soldiers last year. And many – if not most – of those were made using a chemical found in fertilizers.

By cracking down on fertilizer smuggling, the theory goes, one can also cut down the number of improvised explosive devices.

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My Comment: These restrictions should have been imposed years ago. As to the complaints from Afghan farmers .... the ones that they should bring their complaints to are the Taliban and their IED makers.

Britain's Mastiff Armoured Vehicles In Afghanistan Under Review After Three British Soldiers Killed By An IED Blast

David Cameron Promises Review Of Armoured Vehicles After Afghanistan Deaths -- The Telegraph

David Cameron has pledged to review the use of Mastiff armoured vehicles in Afghanistan after three British soldiers were killed by an explosion that overturned the 25-ton vehicle.

It is the first time the Taliban has managed to kill anyone inside the Army’s best-protected vehicle.

Mr Cameron said he would look “carefully” at any measures to give troops even greater security.

The soldiers were last night named as Cpl William Savage, 30, and Fusilier Samuel Flint, 21, both from The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, and Pte Robert Hetherington, 25, of 51st Highland, 7th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

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Update #1: Soldier Mastiff deaths 'may affect Afghanistan strategy,' says defence analyst -- The Telegraph
Update #2: Afghanistan bomb: the British Army Mastiff 3 patrol vehicle - interactive -- The Guardian

My Comment: The IED that killed these three British soldiers must have been massive.

National Geographic - Bomb Hunters Afghanistan (A Documentary)

Trying To Stop The Bomb Makers In Pakistan And Afghanistan

Sources: Defense Department; staff reports. The Washington Post.

U.S., Pakistan Seek Breakthrough To Thwart Bomb Makers -- CNN

The United States and Pakistan will begin working together on a new fertilizer formula that could be a significant technological step to limit the ability of terror groups to make improvised explosives and car bombs using the ingredient.

An agreement to try to make a product more inert was reached last week after Pakistani officials from Fatima Group, a major fertilizer manufacturer, met with Pentagon officials.

"Such a long-term solution would be a true scientific breakthrough," Lt. Gen. Michael Barbero, the head of the Pentagon's Joint Improved Explosive Device Defeat Organization, said in a statement.

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My Comment: Pakistan's past behavior on this issue has been despicable .... the fact that they are now acting stems more from their commercial interests being blocked aboard than having some sudden desire to solve this problem. Unfortunately .... this is small comfort to the thousands of U.S. military personnel and Afghans who have been killed or maimed from these bombs.

Pakistani Fertilizer Bomb Supplier Blocked From Investing In The U.S.

Indiana Gov. Spikes Deal With Pakistani Bomb Supplier -- Washington Times

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has suspended a deal to finance an in-state fertilizer plant to be built by a Pakistani conglomerate that the Pentagon has criticized for refusing to take steps to stop the flow of materials to makers of bombs that kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

News of Mr. Pence’s action followed a report Monday in The Washington Times that said Pakistan’s Fatima Group stood to benefit from the sale of $1.27 billion in tax-exempt municipal bonds in Indiana even as it rebuffed Pentagon efforts to save U.S. lives.

The governor “immediately ordered that the project be suspended pending further investigation,” said Pence spokeswoman Christina Denault. “Indiana is actively investigating in consultation with federal authorities/[Defense Department] the situation at this time.”

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My Comment: Kudos to the Governor .... people have to be held accountable for their actions .... and this Pakistani industrial group have to be held accountable and exposed for their actions and/or obstructions.

U.S. Taxpayers Help Pakistani Fertilizer Firm To Expand In U.S. Even Though it Refuses To Control Bomb Materials That Kill U.S. Troops In Afghanistan

Sole manufacturer of calcium ammonium nitrate changing bag and seed colour on US directive to increase traceability . DESIGN: ANAM HALEEM

Pakistani Fertilizer Firm To Expand In U.S., But Balks On Controlling Bomb Materials -- Washington Times

The Pakistani corporation that has refused the Pentagon’s urgent appeals to control the flow of explosive materials to bomb-makers who kill U.S. troops is expanding its fertilizer manufacturing into the United States.

And it is being done with the help of U.S. taxpayers through the municipal bond market.

The Indiana Finance Authority has approved $1.27 billion in tax-exempt bonds for Midwest Fertilizer Corp. to build a nitrogenous fertilizer manufacturing plant in Posey County. Midwest is a new startup company of the Fatima Group, a conglomerate headquartered in Lahore, Pakistan.

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My Comment: This should get everyone's blood pressure up this morning. The fact is that these fertilizer materials can be used to make some deadly bombs ..... think Oklahoma City bombing.

Inside The Taliban Bombmaking Industry

Afghanistan’s IED Complex: Inside the Taliban Bomb-Making Industry -- Mujib Mashal, Time

“I am here in Kandahar on a short vacation,” says the young man, about 27, who we will call Mullah Kalam. His beard is trimmed neat; he is wearing a black leather jacket and a striped beige turban. Kalam has been a student for five years at a religious seminary across the border in Chaman, in the Pakistani province of Baluchistan. Two years into his studies, as U.S. President Barack Obama ordered a surge of 33,000 troops in Afghanistan, much of it focused in the south, Kalam’s family of 11 left their home in Panjwai district, about 40km from the city of Kandahar, to settle in Chaman.

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My Comment: Bottom line .... the IEDs that explode in Afghanistan .... a good portion of them have a Pakistani signature.

Pentagon Expects More IED Attacks In Afghanistan

An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) used by the Taliban is displayed during a lesson on identifying IEDs for Afghan policemen conducted by U.S. army soldiers at Camp Nathan Smith in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, October 15, 2012.

Pentagon Warns US Troops Could Face More IEDs During Withdrawal -- Voice of America

CAPITOL HILL — A Pentagon official said U.S. and allied forces will face a higher threat from improvised explosive devices, IED’s, as they draw down in Afghanistan.

U.S. officials said improvised explosive devices, homemade bombs usually placed on roadsides, have accounted for more than 60 percent of U.S. combat casualties in Afghanistan.

2011 was the deadliest year, with more than 1,900 U.S. troops killed or wounded by IEDs.

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More News On The Growing Problem Of IEDs In Afghanistan

3-star: More IEDs likely amid Afghan drawdown -- Army Times
Top general expects IED problem to rise in Afghanistan -- CNN
Pentagon warns of higher bomb threat in drawdown -- AP
US troops may face more IED attacks in Afghanistan -- Khaama Press
US presses Pakistan on bomb fertilizer -- International News
Pakistan must do more to stop flow of IEDs: Barbero -- Express Tribune
US Senator warns Pakistan of inaction against IEDs -- The Hindu
Senators Examine Terrorist Use of IEDs -- CSpan
Pakistan: Ally or Killer? -- Mark Thompson, Time

Afghanistan's IED 'Whisperer'

SOUTHERN SHORSURAK, Helmand province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan-Explosive ordnance disposal Marines from Marine Wing Support Squadron 274 destroy an improvised explosive device cache found by Marines from Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, in an abandoned compound east of their newly established observation post in Southern Shorsurak, Helmand province, Afghanistan, during Operation New Dawn, June 20, 2010. While patrolling the Marines found two directional fragmentation improvised explosive devices weighing 35 pounds each, 15 feet of detonation cord and 15 pounds of ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder. Operation New Dawn is a joint operation between Marine Corps units and the Afghanistan National Army to disrupt enemy forces, which have been using the sparsely populated region between Marjah and Nawa as a safe haven. Wikipedia

'IED Whisperer' A Lifesaver In Afghanistan -- Seattle Times

Staff Sgt. Kelly Rogne, who serves with a battalion from Joint Base Lewis McChord, is known as the "IED whisperer" for his ability to find the makeshift bombs that have extracted such a deadly toll in Afghanistan.

BABINEK, Afghanistan — Staff Sgt. Kelly Rogne walked down a dusty village road, rhythmically swinging a metal detector that resembled an oversized hockey stick.

He led a column of more than 20 soldiers past deep-green fields of marijuana that surround this village in Panjwai district, traditional homeland of the Taliban.

To defend this turf, Taliban fighters have seeded Babinek and other areas with dense concentrations of bombs, creating one of the most perilous patrol grounds U.S. soldiers have encountered during more than 11 years of war in Afghanistan.

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My Comment: This is not a job that I would apply for .... but thank God we have people who do.

Afghan Contractor Fraud Puts U.S. Soldiers At Risk

Aftermath of IED blast in Iraq, 2007 (Wikimedia/US Army)

Bomb Risk To U.S. Troops Heightened By Contractor Fraud -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Investigators are warning U.S. commanders in Afghanistan about a heightened risk of attack because of shoddy work by an Afghan contractor paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to help strengthen defenses against Taliban bombings.

The U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, said in a letter released Thursday that drains or pipes thought to have been sealed to prevent the Taliban from planting bombs were still accessible to the insurgents.

It wrote in the October 10 letter to top U.S. commanders, a redacted version of which was released to the media, that although one particular region was potentially exposed "we are concerned that this problem may be more widely spread throughout Afghanistan."

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More News On How Afghan Fraud Is Endangering U.S Troops

Report: Contract fraud puts U.S. troops at risk of IEDs -- USA Today
Afghan 'fraud' puts Nato troops at risk, US report warns -- BBC
Afghan contract fraud puts troops at risk -- Salon
SIGAR: U.S. Troops In Afghanistan At Greater Risk Of IED Attacks Due To Contractor Fraud -- Huffington Post

My Comment: Fraud that is endangering U.S. lives in Afghanistan .... why does this not surprise me.

Has The U.S. Lost The IED War In Afghanistan?

How The U.S. Quietly Lost The IED War In Afghanistan -- Gareth Porter, IPS

WASHINGTON, Oct 9 2012 (IPS) - Although the surge of “insider attacks” on U.S.-NATO forces has dominated coverage of the war in Afghanistan in 2012, an even more important story has been quietly unfolding: the U.S. loss of the pivotal war of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to the Taliban.

Some news outlets have published stories this year suggesting that the U.S. military was making “progress” against the Taliban IED war, but those stories failed to provide the broader context for seasonal trends or had a narrow focus on U.S. fatalities. The bigger reality is that the U.S. troop surge could not reverse the very steep increase in IED attacks and attendant casualties that the Taliban began in 2009 and which continued through 2011.

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My Comment: The fact that the Taliban are still using IEDs tells me that from their perspective the IED is an incredibly effective weapon .... and will continue to be in the foreseeable future.

First Person IED Blast Video

This First Person IED Blast Video Shows Everyday Life For US Troops In Afghanistan -- Business Insider

Aside from being killed by the Afghan troops they're tasked with training, the number one cause of death for U.S. troops in Afghanistan is IEDs.

Improvised explosive devices can be made from virtually anything, detonated in any number of ways, and are nearly impossible to detect. The Taliban managed to lay 16,000 IEDs last year alone, and should exceed that number this year.

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My Comment: The video was uploaded last year. No info on the medical condition of the soldier .... I can only hope that he is OK

The Afghan Taliban Are Starting To Use Bigger Bombs

U.S. military vehicles in Kuwait being returned to the U.S. (Army photograph)

Army’s Vehicles Not Tough Enough For Bombs -- Washington Times

The July 8 roadside explosion that killed six Army soldiers in Afghanistan has analysts worried that the Taliban are turning to bigger homemade bombs to take down the best armored U.S. vehicles.

What is particularly troubling to the military is that the enemy was able to penetrate the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, whose V-shaped hull disperses a blast away from the troops inside.

A military source said in an interview that the July 8 bomb likely was a huge fertilizer-based homemade device hidden in a culvert close to where the vehicle passed. An enemy tactic is to place a bomb underneath or alongside a road and detonate it with a remote electronic signal, such as from a cellphone.

The command in Kabul is generally tight-lipped about how the Taliban, al Qaeda and other insurgents use homemade bombs.

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My Comment: Casualty rates in Afghanistan from IEDs has decreased this year .... a trend that the Taliban have probably noticed and are now acting to reverse.

Awesome Software Platform Used In Locating IEDs In Afghanistan

Military Has To Fight To Purchase Lauded IED Buster -- Washington Times

‘Awesome’ software platform left out of standard budget.

U.S. commanders increasingly are turning to a relatively obscure battlefield detective to find buried bombs, a major killer of Americans in Afghanistan.

But getting permission to buy the detection system has not been easy, a congressman says.

The detective is not a sniffer dog, surveillance gear or metal detector. It is a software platform called Palantir that allows intelligence analysts to quickly mine streams of war-fighting data and calculate likely spots where the Taliban are hiding improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to attack allied convoys.

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My Comment: Palantir's website is here. The work that they are doing is easy.

Progress In the War Against IEDs In Afghanistan

U.S. Army

Spy Planes Help Detect Roadside Bombs In Afghanistan -- USA Today

WASHINGTON – Images from spy planes and sensors that detect wires that trigger explosives have helped to mitigate the No. 1 threat to U.S. troops in Afghanistan — roadside bombs — over the past year.

The Pentagon has filled the skies over Afghanistan with high-tech sensors, and the effect has been measurable. From March through May, troops in vehicles found 64% of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) before they blew up, an 11 percentage-point increase over the previous quarter. Troops on foot patrol discovered 81%, a 4 percentage-point increase, according to the Pentagon's Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO).

The rate of discovery before bombs exploded hovered around 50% for years. The most important measure of progress: IEDs caused less than half of troop deaths for the first time in five years.

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My Comment: Taking the fingerprints from unexploded bombs and matching it to Afghanistan's biometric data base has probably had the most pronounced impact on reducing IED attacks .... especially since you now know who are the IED bomb makers and handlers.

Unfortunately .... this has not been an easy road as the last sentence of this report reveals ....

.... Success hasn't been cheap. JIEDDO has spent more than $18 billion to counter the threat.