'The Business Of Bombs In Afghanistan', Strategy Page, 5 January 2009
EXCERPT: "As in Iraq, the roadside bomb is becoming major industry in some areas of Afghanistan. In 2007, about a thousand of these bombs were built and placed. That doubled to 2,000 in 2008. The building, placing and detonating of these bombs is subcontracted to dozens of teams that specialize in those tasks. The chief proponent of the roadside bomb are the Taliban and al Qaeda groups. These guys are still well financed, and that's what has made the roadside bomb possible in Iraq, as well as Afghanistan. Roadside bombs, or IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) have been the most successful terrorist weapons for injuring American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Currently, about half of American and NATO casualties are caused by these weapons. Getting these bombs made and placed has become a major enterprise for the Taliban and al Qaeda But there have been some disturbing trends in the IED department. Four years ago, for each IED used in Iraq, one American was killed. By 2007, it took six IEDs to kill one U.S. soldier or marine. The same pattern emerged in Afghanistan."
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See also:
'Afghan, coalition forces disrupt road side bombers in Khost and Zabul', DVID News, 2 January 2009
'Afghan suicide bomber thwarted, killed', Canada.com, 2 January 2009
'Afghan attacks "double" in 2008', BBC News, 30 December 2008
'Afghan roadside bombings rise sharply', Wall Street Journal, 29 December 2008
Related posts:
'Improvised roadside attacks in Afghanistan rise sharply', 12 December 2008
'Afghanistan attacks up 40% in east, Pentagon says', 25 June 2008
'Taliban bomb-making expertise growing', 22 February 2008
'Half of U.S. casualties in Afghanistan caused by IEDs: Report' 12 September 2007
