A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill,
harm or surprise a human or another animal. It is triggered by the
presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait
designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap may be set to act upon
trespassers that enter restricted areas, and it can be triggered when
the victim performs an action (e.g., opening a door, picking something
up, or switching something on). It can also be triggered by vehicles
driving along a road, as in the case of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Booby traps should not be confused with mantraps which are designed to catch a person. Lethal booby traps are often used in warfare, particularly guerrilla warfare,
and traps designed to cause injury or pain are also sometimes used by
criminals wanting to protect drugs or other illicit property, and by
some owners of legal property who wish to protect it from theft. Booby
traps which merely cause discomfort or embarrassment are a popular form
of practical joke.
Etymology
The Spanish word bobo
translates to "stupid, daft, naïve, simple, fool, idiot, clown, funny
man, one who is easily cheated" and similar pejorative terms. The slang
of bobo, bubie,
translates to "dunce". Variations of this word exist in other languages
(such as Latin), with their meaning being "to stammer".
In approximately 1590, the word began appearing in the English language as booby, meaning "stupid person, slow bird". The seabird in question was the genus Sula, with their common name being boobies.
These birds have large flat feet and wide wingspans for marine habitats
but are clumsy and slow on shore making them easy to catch. The birds are also known for landing aboard seagoing vessels, whereupon they have been eaten by the crew.
The phrase booby trap originally applied to schoolboy pranks, but took on its more serious connotation during World War I.
Military booby traps
Vietnam War: Republic of Korea Armed Forces soldiers show Vietnamese villagers types of People's Army of Vietnam and Viet Cong booby traps.A group of 105mm artillery shells with plastic explosive stuffed into their fuze pockets. Each of the 5 shells has been linked together with red detcord to make them detonate
simultaneously. To turn this assembly into a booby trap, the final step
would be to connect an M142 firing device to the detcord and hide
everything under some form of cover e.g. newspapers or a bed-sheet.Booby-trap
firing devices, c. 1941: press, pull and release switches;
mass-produced components intended for the construction of booby traps.A Yugoslav POMZ
anti-personnel mine that has been booby trapped with a hand grenade. A
deminer could disable the stake mine, only to set off the hand-grenade
when they remove the mine for disposal. (Balkans 1996)
A military booby trap is designed to kill or injure a person who
activates its trigger, or employed to reveal the location of an enemy by
setting off a signalling device. Most, but not all, military booby
traps involve explosives.
Part of the skill in placing booby traps lies in exploiting
natural human behaviors such as habit, self–preservation, curiosity or
acquisitiveness. A common trick is to provide victims with a simple
solution to a problem, for example, leaving only one door open in an
otherwise secure building, luring them straight toward the firing
mechanism.
An example that exploits an instinct for self–preservation was used in the Vietnam War. Spikes known as punji sticks
were hidden in grassy areas. When fired upon, soldiers instinctively
sought to take cover by throwing themselves down on the ground, impaling
themselves on the spikes.
Many purpose–built booby–trap firing devices exist such as the highly versatile M142 universal firing device (identical to the British L5A1 or Australian F1A1), or Yugoslavian UMNOP-1 which allow a variety of different ways of triggering explosives e.g. via trip wire (either pulling it or releasing the tension on it), direct pressure on an object (e.g. standing on it), or pressure release (lift/shift something) etc.
Most explosive booby traps use between 250 g and 1 kg of
explosive. Since most booby traps are rigged to detonate within a metre
of the victim's body, this is adequate to kill or severely wound.
Effects
Booby traps are indiscriminate weapons. Like anti-personnel mines, they can harm civilians and noncombatants during and after the conflict. The use against civilians is prohibited by the Protocol on Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices, and the protocol also prohibits boobytrapping e.g. the wounded or dead, medical equipment, food, and drink.
History
A type of booby trap was referred to in an 1839 news story in The Times.
During the Vietnam War, motorcycles were rigged with explosives by the National Liberation Front
and abandoned. U.S. soldiers would be tempted to ride the motorcycle
and thus trigger the explosives. In addition, NLF soldiers would rig rubber band grenades and place them in huts that US soldiers would likely burn. Another popular booby trap was the "Grenade in a Can",
a grenade with the safety pin removed in a container and a string
attached, sometimes with the grenade's fuse mechanism modified to give a
much shorter delay than the four to seven seconds typical with grenade
fuses. The NLF soldiers primarily used these on doors and attached them
to tripwires on jungle paths.
The CIA and Green Berets countered by booby trapping the enemy's ammunition supplies, in an operation code–named "Project Eldest Son".
The propellant in a rifle or machine–gun cartridge was replaced with
high explosive. Upon being fired, the sabotaged round would destroy the
gun and kill or injure the shooter. Mortar shells were similarly rigged
to explode when dropped down the tube, instead of launching properly.
This ammunition was then carefully re–packed to eliminate any evidence
of tampering, and planted in enemy munitions dumps by covert insertion
teams. A sabotaged round might also be planted in a rifle magazine or
machine–gun belt and left on the body of a dead NLF soldier, in
anticipation that the deceased's ammo would be picked up and used by his
comrades. No more than one sabotaged round would be planted in any
case, magazine, or belt of ammunition, to reduce the chances of the
enemy finding it no matter how diligently they inspected their supplies.
False rumors and forged documents were circulated to make it appear
that the Communist Chinese were supplying the NLF with defective weapons
and ammunition.
Northern Ireland
During the Troubles, an ethnonationalist conflict in Northern Ireland, booby traps were used by Irish republican and Ulster loyalist paramilitaries to target British security forces and civilians. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) was the most prolific user of the booby traps during the conflict; according to the Sutton Index of Deaths,
180 people were killed during the Troubles as the result of booby trap
bombs, the vast majority of them laid by the IRA. A common type of booby
trap was the car bomb, which involved attaching a bomb to a car so that starting or driving it would detonate the explosive.
Middle East
Lebanese media reported on the phenomenon of intentionally concealed bombs in children's toys in 1997, citing a number of examples.
Israel occupied southern Lebanon between 1982 and 2000 and during that
period planted hundreds of thousands of landmines and bomblets.
A report by the UK Foreign Affairs Committee in 2000 warned of the
dangers of unexploded bombs in southern Lebanon, mentioning the use of
"booby-trapped toys, allegedly dropped by the Israeli air force near
Lebanese villages adjacent to the so-called security zone".
During the Al-Aqsa Intifada
(2000—2005), some Arab–Palestinian groups made wide use of booby traps
to prevent the Israeli army from entering their cities on Palestinian territories. The largest use of booby traps was in the Battle of Jenin during Operation Defensive Shield
where a large number (1000–2000 bombs and booby traps according to a
Palestinian militant who surrendered to Israeli forces in Jenin)
of explosive devices were planted by insurgents. Booby traps had been
laid in the streets of both the camp and the town, ready to be triggered
if a foot snagged a tripwire or a vehicle rolled over a mine. Some of
the bombs were huge, containing as much as 250 lb (110 kg) of
explosives. To counter the booby traps, anti–tank and anti–personnel mines the Israeli army sent armored Caterpillar D9 bulldozers
to clear the area out of any explosive device and booby trap planted.
Eventually, a dozen D9 bulldozers went into action, razing the center of
the refugee camp and forcing the Palestinian militants inside to
surrender.
In the Israel–Hamas war, Israel's use of pagers and walkie-talkies detonations to target the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that killed 42 people and injured 3,500 more, was condemned by some as illegal.
Gallery
Simple Trou de loup booby trap: concealed pitfall with sharp spike at the bottom
USSR booby trap firing device - pull fuze: normally connected to a tripwire
Alternative design of USSR booby trap firing device - pull fuze: normally connected to tripwire
USSR booby-trap firing device - pressure fuze: victim steps on loose floorboard with fuze concealed underneath
Instead of being used to kill, maim or injure people, booby traps can
also be used for entertainment. Practical joke booby traps are
typically disguised as everyday items such as cigars or packets of
chewing gum, nuts or other snack items. When the victims attempts to use
the item, the trap is triggered. Two of the best known examples of this
are the exploding cigar and dribble glass; others include the snake nut can and shocking gum.
Booby traps can also be constructed out of household or workplace items
and be triggered when the victim performs a common action. Examples of
this include loosening the bolts in a chair so that it collapses when
sat upon, or placing a bucket of water on top of a partly open door so
that when the door is fully opened, the bucket tips onto the victim.
Ammunition rigged for an IED discovered in Baghdad by the Iraqi Police in November 2005A U.S. Cougar which was struck by an approximately 90–136 kg (198–300 lb) directed charge IED during the Anbar campaign in September 2007. The crew of the MRAP survived uninjured due to the vehicle's multiple blast protection features.
An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechanism. IEDs are commonly used as roadside bombs, or homemade bombs.
X-ray of a suitcase showing a pipe bomb and a laptop
An IED is a bomb fabricated in an improvised manner incorporating destructive, lethal, noxious, pyrotechnic, or incendiarychemicals
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 homemade
explosives (HME). An HME lab refers to a Homemade Explosive Lab, or the physical location where the devices are crafted.
An IED has five components: a switch (activator), an initiator
(fuse), container (body), charge (explosive), and a power source
(battery). An IED designed for use against armoured targets such as
personnel carriers or tanks will be designed for armour penetration, by
using a shaped charge that creates an explosively formed penetrator. IEDs are extremely diverse in design and may contain many types of initiators, detonators, penetrators, and explosive loads.
A
bomb-making workshop discovered by Israeli Defense Forces in 2002,
containing a large collection of nuts, bolts, and ball bearings to be
used as shrapnel.
Antipersonnel IEDs typically also contain fragmentation-generating
objects such as nails, ball bearings or even small rocks to cause wounds
at greater distances than blast pressure alone could.
In the conflicts of the 21st century, anti-personnel improvised
explosive devices (IED) have partially replaced conventional or military
landmines as the source of injury to dismounted (pedestrian) soldiers and civilians. These injuries were reported in BMJ Open to be far worse with IEDs than with landmines resulting in multiple limb amputations and lower body mutilation.
This combination of injuries has been given the name "Dismounted
Complex Blast Injury" and is thought to be the worst survivable injury
ever seen in war.
IEDs are triggered by various methods, including remote control,
infrared or magnetic triggers, pressure-sensitive bars or trip wires
(victim-operated). 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, they detonate on either the maker or the placer of
the device. Some groups, however, have been known to produce
sophisticated devices constructed with components scavenged from
conventional munitions and standard consumer electronics components, such as mobile phones, consumer-grade two-way radios, 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 toxicchemical, 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 but can be any type of transportation such as a bicycle, motorcycle, donkey (DBIED), etc. They are typically employed by insurgents, in particular ISIS,
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 and use vehicle fuel as an incendiary weapon. The act of a person's being in this vehicle and detonating it is known as an SVBIED suicide.
Of increasing popularity among insurgent forces in Iraq is the
house-borne IED, or HBIED, from the common military practice of clearing
houses; insurgents rig an entire house to detonate and collapse shortly
after a clearing squad has entered.
By warhead
The Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (JCS Pub 1-02) includes two definitions for improvised devices: improvised explosive devices (IED) and improvised nuclear device (IND). These definitions address the Nuclear and Explosive in CBRNe.
That leaves chemical, biological and radiological undefined. Four
definitions have been created to build on the structure of the JCS
definition. Terms have been created to standardize the language of first
responders and members of the military and to correlate the operational
picture.
Explosive
A
device placed or fabricated in an improvised manner incorporating
destructive, lethal, noxious, pyrotechnic, or incendiary chemicals and
designed to destroy, incapacitate, harass, or distract. It may
incorporate military stores, but is normally devised from non-military
components.
IEDs have been deployed in the form of explosively formed projectiles (EFP), a special type of shaped charge
that is effective at long standoffs from the target (50 meters or
more), however they are not accurate at long distances. This is because
of how they are produced. The large "slug" projected from the
explosion has no stabilization because it has no tail fins and it does
not spin like a bullet from a rifle. Without this stabilization the
trajectory can not be accurately determined beyond 50 meters. An EFP is
essentially a cylindrical shaped charge with a machined concave metal
disc (often copper) in front, pointed inward. The force of the shaped
charge turns the disc into a high velocity slug, capable of penetrating
the armor of most vehicles in Iraq.
Directionally focused charges
Directionally
focused charges (also known as directionally focused fragmentary
charges depending on the construction) are very similar to EFPs, with
the main difference being that the top plate is usually flat and not
concave. It also is not made with machined copper but much cheaper cast
or cut metal. When made for fragmentation, the contents of the charge
are usually nuts, bolts, ball bearings and other similar shrapnel
products and explosive. If it only consists of the flat metal plate, it
is known as a platter charge, serving a similar role as an EFP with
reduced effect but easier construction.
Chemical
A
device incorporating the toxic attributes of chemical materials
designed to result in the dispersal of toxic chemical materials for the
purpose of creating a primary patho-physiological toxic effect
(morbidity and mortality), or secondary psychological effect (causing
fear and behavior modification)
on a larger population. Such devices may be fabricated in a completely
improvised manner or may be an improvised modification to an existing
weapon.
Biological
A
device incorporating biological materials designed to result in the
dispersal of vector borne biological material for the purpose of
creating a primary patho-physiological toxic effect (morbidity and
mortality), or secondary psychological effect (causing fear and behavior
modification) on a larger population.
Incendiary
A
device making use of exothermic chemical reactions designed to result
in the rapid spread of fire for the purpose of creating a primary
patho-physiological effect (morbidity and mortality), or secondary
psychological effect (causing fear and behavior modification) on a
larger population or it may be used with the intent of gaining a
tactical advantage. Such devices may be fabricated in a completely
improvised manner or may be an improvised modification to an existing
weapon. A common type of this is the Molotov cocktail.
Radiological
A
speculative device incorporating radioactive materials designed to
result in the dispersal of radioactive material for the purpose of area
denial and economic damage, and/or for the purpose of creating a primary
patho-physiological toxic effect (morbidity and mortality), or
secondary psychological effect (causing fear and behavior modification)
on a larger population. Such devices may be fabricated in a completely
improvised manner or may be an improvised modification to an existing
nuclear weapon. Also called a Radiological Dispersion Device (RDD) or "dirty bomb".
Artillery shells and gasoline cans discovered in the back of a pick-up truck in Iraq
A vehicle may be laden with explosives, set to explode by remote control or by a passenger/driver, commonly known as a car bomb or vehicle-borne IED (VBIED, pronounced vee-bid).
On occasion the driver of the car bomb may have been coerced into
delivery of the vehicle under duress, a situation known as a proxy bomb.
Distinguishing features are low-riding vehicles with excessive weight,
vehicles with only one passenger, and ones where the interior of the
vehicles look as if they have been stripped down and built back up. Car bombs can carry thousands of pounds of explosives and may be augmented with shrapnel to increase fragmentation.
ISIS has used truck bombs with devastating effects.
Boat (WBIED)
Water-borne
Improvised Explosive Devices (WBIED), i.e. boats carrying explosives,
can be used against ships and areas connected to water.
An early example of this type was the Japanese Shinyo suicide boats during World War II.
The boats were filled with explosives and attempted to ram Allied
ships, sometimes successfully, having sunk or severely damaged several
American ships by war's end. Suicide bombers used a boat-borne IED to
attack the USS Cole; US and UK troops have also been killed by boat-borne IEDs in Iraq. The Tamil Tigers Sea Tigers have also been known to use SWBIEDs during the Sri Lankan Civil War.
Monkeys and war pigs were used as incendiaries around 1000 AD. More famously the "anti-tank dog" and "bat bomb"
were developed during World War II. In recent times, a two-year-old
child and seven other people were killed by explosives strapped to a
horse in the town of Chita in Colombia. The carcasses of certain animals were also used to conceal explosive devices by the Iraqi insurgency.
Collar
"Collar bomb" redirects here. For the 2021 Indian film, see Collar Bomb (film).
IEDs strapped to the necks of farmers have been used on at least
three occasions by guerrillas in Colombia, as a way of extortion. American pizza delivery man Brian Douglas Wells was killed in 2003 by an explosive fastened to his neck, purportedly under duress from the maker of the bomb. In 2011 a schoolgirl in Sydney, Australia had a suspected collar bomb attached to her by an attacker in her home. The device was removed by police after a ten-hour operation and proved to be a hoax.
Suicide
Suicide bombing
usually refers to an individual wearing explosives and detonating them
to kill others including themselves, the bomber will conceal explosives
on and around their person, commonly using a vest,
and will use a timer or some other trigger to detonate the explosives.
The logic behind such attacks is the belief that an IED delivered by a
human has a greater chance of achieving success than any other method of
attack. In addition, there is the psychological impact of child
soldiers prepared to deliberately sacrifice themselves for their cause.
In May 2012 American counter-terrorism
officials leaked their acquisition of documents describing the
preparation and use of surgically implanted improvised explosive
devices.
The devices were designed to evade detection.
The devices were described as containing no metal, so they could not be detected by X-rays.
Security officials referred to bombs being surgically implanted into suicide bombers' "love handles".
According to the Daily Mirror UK security officials at MI-6 asserted that female bombers could travel undetected carrying the explosive chemicals in otherwise standard breast implants. The bomber would blow up the implanted explosives by injecting a chemical trigger.
In 2008, rocket-propelled IEDs, dubbed Improvised Rocket Assisted Munitions, Improvised Rocket Assisted Mortars and (IRAM) by the military, came to be employed in numbers against U.S. forces in Iraq. They have been described as propane tanks packed with explosives and powered by 107 mm rockets. They are similar to some Provisional IRA barrack buster mortars.
New types of IRAMs including Volcano IRAM and Elephant Rockets, are used during the Syrian Civil War.
Improvised mortar
Improvised mortars have been used by many insurgent groups including during the civil war in Syria and Boko Haram insurgency. IRA used improvised mortars called barrack busters.
Improvised artillery including hell cannons are used by rebel forces during Syrian Civil War.
By trigger mechanism
Wire
Command-wire
improvised, explosive devices (CWIED) use an electrical firing cable
that affords the user complete control over the device right up until
the moment of initiation.
Radio
The trigger for a radio-controlled
improvised explosive device (RCIED) is controlled by radio link. The
device is constructed so that the receiver is connected to an electrical
firing circuit and the transmitter operated by the perpetrator at a
distance. A signal from the transmitter causes the receiver to trigger a
firing pulse that operates the switch. Usually the switch fires an
initiator; however, the output may also be used to remotely arm an
explosive circuit. Often the transmitter and receiver operate on a
matched coding system that prevents the RCIED from being initiated by spurious radio frequency signals or jamming. An RCIED can be triggered from any number of different radio-frequency based mechanisms including handheld remote control transmitters, car alarms, wireless door bells, cell phones, pagers and portable two-way radios, including those designed for the UHF PMR446, FRS, and GMRS services.
Mobile phone
A
radio-controlled IED (RCIED) incorporating a mobile phone that is
modified and connected to an electrical firing circuit. Mobile phones
operate in the UHF band in line of sight with base transceiver station
(BTS) antennae sites. In the common scenario, receipt of a paging
signal by phone is sufficient to initiate the IED firing circuit.
Victim-operated
Victim-operated improvised explosive devices (VOIED), also known as booby traps,
are designed to function upon contact with a victim. VOIED switches are
often well hidden from the victim or disguised as innocuous everyday
objects. They are operated by means of movement. Switching methods
include tripwire, pressure mats, spring-loaded release, push, pull or
tilt. Common forms of VOIED include the under-vehicle IED (UVIED),
improvised landmines, and mail bombs.
Infrared
The British accused Iran and Hezbollah of teaching Iraqi fighters to use infrared
light beams to trigger IEDs. As the occupation forces became more
sophisticated in interrupting radio signals around their convoys, the
insurgents adapted their triggering methods.
In some cases, when a more advanced method was disrupted, the
insurgents regressed to using uninterruptible means, such as hard wires
from the IED to detonator; however, this method is much harder to
effectively conceal. It later emerged however, that these "advanced"
IEDs were actually old IRA
technology. The infrared beam method was perfected by the IRA in the
early 1990s after it acquired the technology from a botched undercover
British Army operation. Many of the IEDs being used against the invading
coalition forces in Iraq were originally developed by the British Army who unintentionally passed the information on to the IRA. The IRA taught their techniques to the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the knowledge spread to Iraq.
Counter-IED efforts are done primarily by military, law enforcement,
diplomatic, financial, and intelligence communities and involve a
comprehensive approach to countering the threat networks that employ
IEDs, not just efforts to defeat the devices themselves.
Detection and disarmament
Because
the components of these devices are being used in a manner not intended
by their manufacturer, and because the method of producing the
explosion is limited only by the science and imagination of the
perpetrator, it is not possible to follow a step-by-step guide to detect
and disarm a device that an individual has only recently developed. As
such, explosive ordnance disposal (IEDD) operators must be able to fall back on their extensive knowledge of the first principles of explosives and ammunition, to try and deduce what the perpetrator has done, and only then to render it safe and dispose of or exploit the device.
Beyond this, as the stakes increase and IEDs are emplaced not
only to achieve the direct effect, but to deliberately target IEDD
operators and cordon personnel, the IEDD operator needs to have a deep
understanding of tactics to ensure they are neither setting up any of
their team or the cordon troops for an attack, nor walking into one
themselves. The presence of chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN)
material in an IED requires additional precautions. As with other
missions, the EOD operator provides the area commander with an
assessment of the situation and of support needed to complete the
mission.
Military and law enforcement personnel from around the world have developed a number of render-safe procedures
(RSPs) to deal with IEDs. RSPs may be developed as a result of direct
experience with devices or by applied research designed to counter the
threat. The supposed effectiveness of IED jamming systems, including
vehicle- and personally-mounted systems, has caused IED technology to essentially regress to command-wire detonation methods.
These are physical connections between the detonator and explosive
device and cannot be jammed. However, these types of IEDs are more
difficult to emplace quickly, and are more readily detected.
Military forces and law enforcement from India, Canada, United
Kingdom, Israel, Spain, and the United States are at the forefront of
counter-IED efforts, as all have direct experience in dealing with IEDs
used against them in conflict or terrorist attacks. From the research
and development side, programs such as the new Canadian Unmanned Systems
Challenge will bring student groups together to invent an unmanned
device to both locate IEDs and pinpoint the insurgents.
Historical use
The fougasse was improvised for centuries, eventually inspiring factory-made land mines. Ernst Jünger mentions in his war memoir the systematic use of IEDs and booby traps to cover the retreat of German troops at the Somme region during World War I. Another early example of coordinated large-scale use of IEDs was the Belarusian Rail War launched by Belarusian guerrillas against the Germans during World War II.Both command-detonated and delayed-fuse IEDs were used to derail thousands of German trains during 1943–1944.
Afghanistan
U.S. Marines with Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) destroy an improvised explosive device cache in southern Afghanistan in June 2010.
Starting six months before the invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR on 27 December 1979, the Afghan Mujahideen were supplied by the CIA, among others, with large quantities of military supplies. Among those supplies were many types of anti-tank mines.
The insurgents often removed the explosives from several foreign
anti-tank mines, and combined the explosives in tin cooking-oil cans for
a more powerful blast. By combining the explosives from several mines
and placing them in tin cans, the insurgents made them more powerful,
but sometimes also easier to detect by Soviet sappers using mine detectors.
After an IED was detonated, the insurgents often used direct-fire
weapons such as machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades to continue
the attack.
Afghan insurgents operating far from the border with Pakistan did
not have a ready supply of foreign anti-tank mines. They preferred to
make IEDs from Soviet unexploded ordnance. The devices were rarely
triggered by pressure fuses. They were almost always remotely detonated.
Since the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, the Taliban and its supporters have used IEDs against NATO
and Afghan military and civilian vehicles. This has become the most
common method of attack against NATO forces, with IED attacks increasing
consistently year on year.
A brigade commander said that sniffer dogs are the most reliable way of detecting IEDs.
However, statistical evidence gathered by the US Army Maneuver Support
Center at Fort Leonard Wood, MO shows that the dogs are not the most
effective means of detecting IEDs. The U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division was the first unit to introduce explosive detection dogs in southern Afghanistan. In less than two years the dogs discovered 15 tons of illegal munitions, IED's, and weapons.
In July 2012 it was reported that "sticky bombs", magnetically adhesive IED's that were prevalent in the Iraq War, showed up in Afghanistan. By 2021 there was at least one sticky bomb attack a day in Kabul. They
are used in both traditional assassinations and targeted killings and as
terror weapons against the population at large.
In November 2013 one of the largest IEDs constructed was
intercepted near Gardez City in Eastern Afghanistan. The 61,000 pounds
of explosives was hidden under what appeared to be piles of wood. By
comparison, the truck bomb that all but razed the Alfred P. Murrah
Federal Building in Oklahoma City and killed 168 people in 1995 weighed
less than 5,000 pounds. A United States Army Corps of Engineers
officer assigned to the nearby FOB Lightning analyzed the potential
blast damage, which resulted in closing FOB Goode due to its proximity
to the highway.
ISAF troops stationed in Afghanistan and other IED prone areas of
operation would commonly "BIP" (blow in place) IED's and other
explosives that were considered too dangerous to defuse.
On 21 February 2013, two IEDs were used to carry out bombings in the Indian city of Hyderabad. The bombs exploded in Dilsukhnagar, a crowded shopping area of the city, within 150 metres of each other.
On 17 April 2013, two kilos of explosives used in Bangalore bomb
blast at Malleshwaram area, leaving 16 injured and no fatalities.
Intelligence sources have said the bomb was an Improvised Explosive
Device or IED.
On 21 May 2014, Indinthakarai village supporters of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant
were targeted by opponents using over half a dozen crude "country-made
bombs". It was further reported that there had been at least four
similar bombings in Tamil Nadu during the preceding year.
On 28 December 2014, a minor explosion took place near the Coconut Grove restaurant at Church Street in Bangalore on Sunday around 8:30 pm. One woman was killed and another injured in the blast.
On 14 February 2019 in 2019 Pulwama attack, several casualties were reported due to IED blast.
On 29 October 2023, a series of IED explosions were used to kill 2 attendees at a Jehovah's Witnesses Convention in Kalamassery, India.
Iraq
A Stryker lies on its side following a buried IED blast in Iraq. (2007)
In the 2003–2011 Iraq War, IEDs have been used extensively against Coalition forces and by the end of 2007 they have been responsible for at least 64% of Coalition deaths in Iraq.
Since the detonation of the first IED in Iraq in 2003, more than
81,000 IED attacks have occurred in the country, killing and wounding
21,200 Americans.
Beginning in July 2003, the Iraqi insurgency used IEDs to target invading coalition vehicles. According to The Washington Post, 64% of U.S. deaths in Iraq occurred due to IEDs. A French study
showed that in Iraq, from March 2003 to November 2006, on a global
3,070 deaths in the US-led invading coalition soldiers, 1,257 were
caused by IEDs, i.e. 41%. That is to say more than in the "normal
fights" (1027 dead, 34%). Insurgents now use the bombs to target not only invading coalition vehicles but Iraqi police as well.
Common locations for placing these bombs on the ground include animal carcasses, soft drink cans, and boxes. Typically, they explode underneath or to the side of the vehicle to cause the maximum amount of damage. However, as vehicle armour was improved on military vehicles, insurgents began placing IEDs in elevated positions such as on road signs, utility poles, or trees, to hit less protected areas.
IEDs in Iraq may be made with artillery or mortarshells or with varying amounts of bulk or homemade explosives.
Early during the Iraq war, the bulk explosives were often obtained
from stored munitions bunkers to include stripping landmines of their
explosives.
Despite the increased armor,
IEDs are killing military personnel and civilians with greater
frequency. May 2007 was the deadliest month for IED attacks thus far,
with a reported 89 of the 129 invading coalition casualties coming from
an IED attack.
According to the Pentagon, 250,000 tons (out of 650,000 tons total) of
Iraqi heavy ordnance were looted, providing a large supply of ammunition
for the insurgents.
In October 2005, the UK government charged that Iran was supplying insurgents with the technological know-how to make shaped charge IEDs. Both Iranian and Iraqi government officials denied the allegations.
On August 27, 2023, Israeli security forces successfully foiled
an attempt to smuggle Iranian-made explosives into Israel from Jordan.
The thwarted smuggling operation in the Jordan Valley aimed to supply
terror groups in the West Bank with explosives. Counter-smuggling
efforts along the border have led to increased seizures of weapons and
explosive devices.
Ireland and the United Kingdom
Oil-drum roadside IED removed from culvert in 1984Wheelbarrow counter-IED robot on streets of Northern Ireland in 1978
Throughout the Troubles, the Provisional Irish Republican Army made extensive use of IEDs in their 1969–97 campaign, much of which were made in the Republic of Ireland. They used barrack buster
mortars and remote-controlled IEDs. Members of the IRA developed and
counter-developed devices and tactics. IRA bombs became highly
sophisticated, featuring anti-handling devices such as a mercury tilt switch or microswitches. These devices would detonate the bomb if it was moved in any way. Typically, the safety-arming device used was a clockwork Memopark timer, which armed the bomb up to 60 minutes after it was placed by completing an electrical circuit supplying power to the anti-handling device. Depending on the particular design (e.g., boobytrappedbriefcase or car bomb)
an independent electrical circuit supplied power to a conventional
timer set for the intended time delay, e.g. 40 minutes. However, some
electronic delays developed by IRA technicians could be set to
accurately detonate a bomb weeks after it was hidden, which is what
happened in the Brighton hotel bomb attack
of 1984. Initially, bombs were detonated either by timer or by simple
command wire. Later, bombs could be detonated by radio control.
Initially, simple servos from radio-controlled aircraft
were used to close the electrical circuit and supply power to the
detonator. After the British developed jammers, IRA technicians
introduced devices that required a sequence of pulsed radio codes to arm and detonate them. These were harder to jam.
The IRA as well as Ulster loyalist
paramilitaries have also utilized less sophisticated devices, such as
homemade grenades crudely thrown at the target. These are sometimes
called "blast bombs".
Roadside bombs were extensively used by the IRA. Typically, a
roadside bomb was placed in a drain or culvert along a rural road and
detonated by remote control when British security forces vehicles were
passing, as with the case of the 1979 Warrenpoint ambush. As a result of the use of these bombs, the British military stopped transport by road in areas such as South Armagh, and used helicopter transport instead to avoid the danger.
Most IEDs used commercial or homemade explosives made in the Republic of Ireland, with ingredients such as gelignite and ANFO either stolen in construction sites or provided for by supporters in the South, although the use of Semtex-H smuggled in from Libya in the 1980s was also common from the mid-1980s onward. Bomb Disposal teams from 321 EOD manned by Ammunition Technicians
were deployed in those areas to deal with the IED threat. The IRA also
used secondary devices to catch British reinforcements sent in after an
initial blast as occurred in the Warrenpoint Ambush.
Between 1970 and 2005, the IRA detonated 19,000 IEDs in the Northern
Ireland and Britain, an average of one every 17 hours for three and a
half decades, arguably making it "the biggest terrorist bombing campaign
in history".
In the early 1970s, at the height of the IRA campaign, the British Army
unit tasked with rendering safe IEDs, 321 EOD, sustained significant
casualties while engaged in bomb disposal operations. This mortality
rate was far higher than other high risk occupations such as deep sea
diving, and a careful review was made of how men were selected for EOD operations. The review recommended bringing in psychometric testing of soldiers to ensure those chosen had the correct mental preparation for high risk bomb disposal duties.
The IRA came up with ever more sophisticated designs and deployments of IEDs. Booby Trap
or Victim Operated IEDs (VOIEDs), became commonplace. The IRA engaged
in an ongoing battle to gain the upper hand in electronic warfare with
remote controlled devices. The rapid changes in development led 321 EOD
to employ specialists from DERA (now Dstl, an agency of the MOD), the Royal Signals, and Military Intelligence.
This approach by the British army to fighting the IRA in Northern
Ireland led to the development and use of most of the modern weapons,
equipment and techniques now used by EOD Operators throughout the rest
of the world today.
IEDs have been used in many attacks by Palestinian militants and continue to be used in recent attacks.
Lebanon
The Lebanese National Resistance Front, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, other resistance groups in Lebanon, and later Hezbollah,
made extensive use of IEDs to resist Israeli forces after Israel's
invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Israel withdrew from Beirut, Northern
Lebanon, and Mount Lebanon in 1985, whilst maintaining its occupation of
Southern Lebanon. Hezbollah frequently used IEDs to attack Israeli
military forces in this area up until the Israeli withdrawal, and the
end of the invasion of Lebanon in May 2000.
One such bomb killed Israeli Brigadier General Erez Gerstein on 28 February 1999, the highest-ranking Israeli to die in Lebanon since Yekutiel Adam's death in 1982.
Also in the 2006 War in Lebanon, a Merkava Mark II tank was hit by a pre-positioned Hezbollah IED, killing all 4 IDF servicemen on board, the first of two IEDs to damage a Merkava tank.
Libya
Homemade IEDs are used extensively during the post-civil war violence in Libya, mostly in the city of Benghazi against police stations, cars or foreign embassies.
Nepal
IEDs were also widely used in the 10-years long civil war of the Maoists in Nepal, ranging from those bought from illicit groups in India and China, to self-made devices. Typically used devices were pressure cooker bombs,
socket bombs, pipe bombs, bucket bombs, etc. The devices were used more
for the act of terrorizing the urban population rather than for fatal
causes, placed in front of governmental offices, street corners or road
sides. Mainly, the home-made IEDs were responsible for destruction of
majority of structures targeted by the Maoists and assisted greatly in
spreading terror among the public.
Nigeria
Boko Haram are using IEDs during their insurgency.
Pakistan
Taliban and other insurgent groups use IEDs against police, military, security forces, and civilian targets.
Russia
IEDs have also been popular in Chechnya,
where Russian forces were engaged in fighting with rebel elements.
While no concrete statistics are available on this matter, bombs have
accounted for many Russian deaths in both the First Chechen War (1994–1996) and the Second (1999–2009).
During the Syrian Civil War, militant insurgents were using IEDs to attack buses, cars, trucks, tanks and military convoys. Additionally, the Syrian Air Force has used barrel bombs
to attack targets in cities and other areas. Such barrel bombs consist
of barrels filled with high explosives, oil, and shrapnel, and are
dropped from helicopters.
On
16 November 2021, suicide bombers set off two powerful explosions in
the center of Uganda's capital Kampala during rush hour in an attack
later claimed by Islamic State. There have been a number of bomb
explosions in 2021. In October, a 20-year-old waitress was killed after a
device, left in a shopping bag, detonated in a bar in the city. Days
later several people were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up
in a bus near Kampala.
High school students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold used multiple IEDs during the Columbine High School massacre on 20 April 1999, including two large propane bombs that were placed in the cafeteria, powerful enough to kill or injure everyone inside the room, along with pipe bombs, Molotov cocktails, and also two car bombs, designed to attack first responders and news reporters
responding to the initial bombing. Both propane bombs and both car
bombs failed to detonate correctly. They then went on to shoot and kill
13 people before committing suicide. If all bombs detonated, there could
have been hundreds killed in the massacre, but nobody was injured by
any of the explosives during the massacre. The pair had planned to
exceed the death count during the Oklahoma City bombing four years
earlier.
In January 2011, a shaped pipe bomb was discovered and defused at a Martin Luther King Jr. memorial march in Spokane, Washington. The FBI said that the bomb was specifically designed to cause maximum harm as the explosive device was, according to the Los Angeles Times, packed with fishing weights covered in rat poison, and may have been racially motivated. No one was injured during the event.
On 15 April 2013, as the annual Boston Marathon race was concluding, two bombs were detonated seconds apart close to the finish line. Initial FBI response indicated suspicion of IED pressure cooker bombs.
On 17–19 September 2016, several explosions occurred in Manhattan and New Jersey. The sources of the explosions were all found to be IEDs of various types, such as pressure cooker bombs and pipe bombs
Many IED-related arrests are made each year in circumstances
where the plot was foiled before the device was deployed, or the device
exploded but no one was injured.
A number of deaths and property damage occurring during gender reveal parties have been caused by the detonation of improvised explosive devices. These include the 2017 Sawmill Fire, which was started by the detonation of a mass of tannerite intended to disperse coloured powder,
and an incident in 2019 where an IED similarly designed to release
powder exploded in a manner similar to a pipe bomb, killing a
56-year-old woman after shrapnel struck her in the head.
IEDs were used during the Vietnam War by the Viet Cong against land- and river-borne vehicles as well as personnel. They were commonly constructed using materials from unexploded American ordnance.
Thirty-three percent of U.S. casualties in Vietnam and twenty-eight
percent of deaths were officially attributed to mines; these figures
include losses caused by both IEDs and commercially manufactured mines.
The film The Hurt Locker
follows an Iraq War Explosive Ordnance Disposal team who are targeted
by insurgents and shows their psychological reactions to the stress of
combat.
Simple Trou de loup booby trap: concealed pitfall with sharp spike at the bottom
Alternative design of USSR booby trap firing device - pull fuze: normally connected to tripwire
USSR booby-trap firing device - pressure fuze: victim steps on loose floorboard with fuze concealed underneath
