Improvised Explosive Devices

Question 1

IED

Answer 1

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.

Question 2

Booby Trap

Answer 2

An explosive or non-explosive device or other material, deliberately placed to cause casualties when an apparently harmless object is disturbed or a normally safe act is performed

Question 3

Mine

Answer 3

an explosive or material, normally encased, designed to destroy or damage ground vehicles, boats, or aircraft, or designed to wound, kill, or otherwise incapacitate personnel. It may be detonated by the action of its victim, by the passage of time, or by controlled means.

Question 4

Components of an IED

Answer 4

• IEDs can vary widely in shape and form.
  1. main charge,
  2. initiating system,
  3. casing.

Question 5

Main charge

Answer 5

. The most common explosives used are military munitions, usually 122-millimeter or greater mortar, tank, and/or artillery rounds.
2. These items are the easiest to use and provide a ready-made fragmentation effect and they allow for relatively easy “daisy chaining,” which is linking multiple main charges
together over long or short distances for simultaneous detonation.
3. Other IEDs have used military and commercial explosives, such as PE4, trinitrotoluene (TNT), ammonium nitrate (fertilizer), and fuel oil (ANFO).
4. Common hardware, such as ball bearings, bolts, nuts, or nails, can be used to enhance the fragmentation.
5. Propane tanks, fuel cans, and battery acid can and have been added to IEDs to propagate the blast and thermal effects of the IED.

Question 6

Initiating system

Answer 6

1. fuse functions the device.
2. It could be a simple hard wire for command detonation to a cellular telephone or remote controls to toy cars and airplanes for radio-controlled IEDs.
3. The initiator almost always consists of a blasting cap.
4. Batteries are used as a power source for detonators. Batteries of all types are the primary source of power for IEDs. Batteries could be as small as 9-volts, AA, and those used in long-range cordless telephones (LRCTs) to car and truck batteries.
5. IEDs may even be wired into the local power supply of a home or office.

Question 7

Casing

Answer 7

1. can range in size from a cigarette pack to a large truck or airplane.
2. The container is used to help hide the IED and to possibly provide fragmentation. A myriad of containers have been used as casings, including soda cans, animal carcasses, plastic bags, and vests or satchels for suicide bombers.

Question 8

Initiation Methods

Answer 8

• Most IEDs in Iraq are presently command-detonated and use electric firing circuit systems.
  1. Time
  2. Command
  a. Radio Control (RCIED)
  b. Command Wire (CWIED)
  3. Victim Operated (VOIED)

Question 9

Wireless firing systems use radio transmissions from wireless items such as

Answer 9

Wireless firing systems use radio transmissions from wireless items such as

Question 10

Time IED

Answer 10

1. are designed to function after a preset delay, allowing the enemy to make his escape or to target military forces which have created a pattern.
2. Timers used include igniferous (fire producing), chemical, mechanical, and electronic devices.

Question 11

Command-initiated IED

Answer 11

1. are a common method of employment and allow the enemy to choose the optimum moment of initiation.
2. They are normally used against targets that are in transit or where a routine pattern has been established.
3. The most common types of command-initiated methods are with command wires or radio-controlled devices, such as LRCTs, cordless telephones, and remote car openers and alarms.

Question 12

Victim-actuated IED

Answer 12

1. a means of attacking an individual or group of individuals. 2. There are various types of initiation devices, which include pull or trip, pressure, pressure release, movement-sensitive, light-sensitive, proximity, and electronic switches.
2. Trip wires have also been used and targeted for foot mobile patrols or for turret gunners in convoys.

Question 13

IED TTPs

Answer 13

• can more effectively prevent, mitigate, and respond to IED attacks by better understanding enemy IED tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). Three main objectives are:
  1. Understand common IED target areas
  2. dentify IED camouflage methods and hiding places
  3. Understand how IEDs are employed in attacks

Question 14

Common areas of IED emplacement include, but are not limited to:

Answer 14

• Previous IED sites
• Frequently traveled, predictable routes, such as roads leading to FOBs and along common patrol routes.
• Boundary turnaround points (pattern).
• Roadway shoulders (usually within 10 feet).
• Medians, by the roadside, or buried under the surface of any type of road, often in potholes and covered with dirt or reheated asphalt.
• Trees, light posts, signs, overpasses, and bridge spans that are elevated.
• Unattended vehicles, trucks, cars, carts, or motorcycles (attached or installed in them).
• Guardrails (hidden inside) or under any type of material or packaging.
• Potential incident control points (ICPs).
• Abandoned structures (sometimes partially demolished).
• Cinder blocks (hidden behind), piles of sand to direct blast into the kill zone, or inside disguised concrete items (fake curbs).
• Animal carcasses and deceased human bodies.
• Fake bodies or scarecrows in coalition uniforms.
• Buildings.
• Employed at the edge of town.

Question 15

Methods used to lure friendly forces into an IED kill zone such as:

Answer 15

• Broken down motorist
• Person in need of medical attention
• Unaccompanied young child/children

Question 16

Booby-trapped IEDs are common where?

Answer 16

in weapons and munitions caches.

Question 17

Marking of IED

Answer 17

• Threat forces attempt to mark the IED in such a manner that the marker itself does not look out of place and/or does not draw unwanted attention. Some examples include:
  •Piles of rocks
  •Arranged sticks
  •Paint markings
  •Cloth or plastic strips tied to branches

Question 18

Primary indicator of IED

Answer 18

1. will be a change in the environment (something new on the route that was not there yesterday).
2. The enemy may leave behind visual indicators of an emplaced IED by accident or on purpose (to inform the local population).
3. Vigilant observation for these subtle indicators can increase the likelihood of IED detection by friendly forces before detonation.

Question 19

Friendly forces should be especially vigilant around:

Answer 19

oObstacles in the roadway to channel convoys.
oExposed antennas, detonating cord, wires, or ordnance.
oWires laid out in plain site; these may be part of an IED or designed to draw friendly force attention before detonation of the real IED.

Question 20

Employment Techniques of IED

Answer 20

1. The enemy will generally employ the IED in a fashion and an area that allows the attacker to remain concealed and/or covered (such as a rooftop or window, dirt mound, vehicle [to include motorcycles], vegetation, canal, defile, alleyway, or even within a crowd) during the attack and to egress in a concealed or protected fashion.
2. While typically being within 30-500 meters of the IED kill zone, attackers will generally locate themselves so that restrictive terrain is between them and friendly forces, thereby making it more difficult for friendly forces to over take them.
3. There may be single or multiple IED placed in the kill zone with secondary IEDs, false kill zones, and multiple zones to further confuse friendly forces making them more vulnerable to the attack. Multiple IEDs are often daisy-chained together creating a linear target area.
4. Below are some ways that IEDs can be used, whether they are emplaced by the enemy or used as VBIEDs.
5. Additionally, there are some TTPs included that the enemy has used in order to hinder the mobility efforts of coalition forces. Keep in mind; TTPs constantly change with the location and desired intent of the emplaced IED, threat or obstacle.
6. The enemy has also incorporated the use of small arms fire in conjunction with the IED attack to harass forces in their attempts to conduct patrols and convoys along any given route.

Question 21

IEDs can be used in the following manners:

Answer 21

• Disguised static IEDs can be concealed with just about anything (trash, boxes, tires, and so forth) and can be placed in, on, or under a target or in or under unsecured vehicles.
• Disguised moveable IEDs (vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices [VBIEDs], suicide bomber vests or victim-actuated IEDs).
• Thrown or projected IEDs (improvised grenades or mortars).
• IEDs placed in, on, or under a secured/unsecured object.
• Hoax IEDs, which the enemy uses for myriad purposes, such as to learn our TTP, entrapment, non-explosive obstacle, and development of identifying complacency for future IED attacks.

Question 22

Additional ways that IED have been employed are:

Answer 22

1. The Basic IED attack
2. The “Broken Down” Vehicle attack
3. Tag Team attack
4. Ramming Convoys
5. Motorcycles

Question 23

Vehicle Borne IED (VBIED)

Answer 23

1. has been successful due to it’s mobility and enabling the enemy to choose the time and place of the attack with much greater flexibility.
2. are like any other IED, they almost never look the same (from bicycles to dump trucks) and there are countless different scenarios that can be set up by the enemy.
3. Particulars of VBIEDs are:
   a. Driver
   b. Vehicle
   c. Local Signs

Question 24

Suicide Bombers (SBIEDs)

Answer 24

1. Most suicide attacks involve SBIEDs, and include casualty rates from tens to hundreds. Recently, however, there has been an increasing trend for suicide bombers to attack with an explosive vest, belt or baggage.
2. Coalition Forces have been attacked within the perimeter of a Firm Base; civilians have been attacked at polling stations and at police recruitment drives; and a civilian contractor was killed when a bomber exited his vehicle in traffic, approached the contractor’s vehicle, and detonated his vest/belt. With effective techniques being used to reduce the effectiveness of VBIEDs, the potential for the enemy to adapt to suicide bombers increases.
3. If the charges used by bombers are effectively packaged and concealed, a suicide bomber could carry up to 45 pounds of explosives; however, most suicide belts are designed to hold smaller amounts, up to 12 pounds. The mass of this weight of explosive promotes conformity of the belt to the individual, improving concealment. It should be noted that fragment producing materials are often incorporated into the design of these belts/vests.

Question 25

Tenets of IED Defeat

Answer 25

1. The IED defeat framework is enables commanders and staffs to plan and take proactive measures to seek out and defeat IED events before they occur.
2. It also provides a methodology for addressing IED events upon contact and subsequent detonation.

Question 26

IED Defeat framework consists of:

Answer 26

1. Predict - These activities are used to identify and understand enemy personnel, equipment, infrastructure, TTP, support mechanisms, or other actions to forecast specific enemy IED operations directed against U.S. interests.
2. Detect - These activities contribute to the identification and location of enemy personnel, explosive devices, and their component parts, equipment, logistics operations, and infrastructure in order to provide accurate and timely information.
3. Prevent - These activities disrupt and defeat the IED operational chain of events. The actions focus on the target to interdict or destroy key enemy personnel (bomb makers, leaders, and financiers), the infrastructure/ logistics capabilities (suppliers and bomb factories), and surveillance/ targeting efforts (reconnaissance and over-watch operations) before emplacement of the device.
4. Avoid activities - These activities keep friendly forces from IEDs when prevention activities are not possible or have failed.
5. Neutralize - These activities contribute to the destruction or reduction of enemy personnel, explosive devices, or supplies. They can be proactive or reactive in nature.
6. Protect - These activities improve the survivability of IED targets through hardening, awareness training, or other techniques.

Question 27

Two Major sub-elements of IED defeat framework

Answer 27

1. Proactive elements are actions taken by friendly forces to predict, detect, prevent, avoid, neutralize, and protect against IED events.
2. Reactive elements are actions taken by friendly forces to detect, avoid, neutralize, and protect against IED events.

Question 28

Four of the Six tenets of IED Defeat framework that small unit leader generally utilized:

Answer 28

1. predict
2. detect
3. avoid
4. protect

Question 29

What is the minimum safe distance from any IED?

Answer 29

300 meters, but this range increases as the size of the IED increases.

Question 30

What is the most effective way to enhance your security in relation to IED threat?

Answer 30

to deny the insurgents the opportunity to emplace an IED.

Question 31

Prepare for Movement

Answer 31

1. Number and type of vehicles
2. Planned speed of movement
3. Weapons
4. Route selection
5. Communication plan
6. Pre-movement rehearsals
7. Pre-Combat Inspections
8. After action report

Question 32

Reacting to Suspected IEDs

Answer 32

1. Re-movement rehearsals
2. Patrolling
   a. Counter VBIED techniques - key to survive is standoff and over.
   1) Maintaining Standoff: Mobile
   2) Maintaining Standoff: Stationary
   b. Counter Suicide Bomber Techniques
   c. Actions at Halts
   d. Actions at Contact
   e. Suspected IED - what Not to do.
   f. IED detonation
   g. IED Detonation: No Ambush, with or without casualties
   h. IED detonation with direct fire ambush