Improvised Explosive Device

Iraqi Police discovered this improvised explosive device Nov. 7 2005 in eastern Baghdad and disarmed it before it could be detonated in a terrorist attack. Army photo

Many of our troops and innocent Iraqi civilians are being killed by IEDS-An IED is a bomb fabricated in an improvised manner incorporating destructive, lethal, noxious, pyrotechnic, or incendiary chemicals and designed to destroy or incapacitate personnel or vehicles. In some cases, IEDs are used to distract, disrupt, or delay an opposing force, to facilitate another type of attack. IEDs may incorporate military or commercially-sourced explosives, and often combine both types, or they may otherwise be made with home made explosives HME.

An IED typically consists of an explosive charge (potentially assisted by a "booster" charge), a detonator and an initiation system which is a mechanism that initiates the electrical charge that sets off the device. IEDs are extremely diverse in design, and may contain many types of initiators, detonators, and explosive loads. In some cases, IEDs also contain metal objects such as nails or ball bearings (known as shipward confetti after the metal waste found in the shipyards of Belfast). IEDs are triggered by various methods, including remote control, infra-red or magnetic triggers, pressure-sensitive bars or trip wires. In some cases, multiple IEDs are wired together in a "daisy-chain", to attack a convoy of vehicles spread out along a roadway.

Below are pictures posted on the web by U.S. troops showing what an IED can do to a heavily armored vehicle.