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 , destroyed in Afghanistan. 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. A brigade commander said that
sniffer dogs were the most reliable way of detecting IEDs. However, statistical evidence gathered by the US Army Maneuver Support Center at Fort Leonard Wood, MO showed that the dogs were 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, IEDs, and weapons. , destroyed in the Afghan province of
Panjshir. In July 2012 it was reported that "sticky bombs", magnetically adhesive IEDs 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 used to "BIP" (blow in place) IEDs and other explosives that were considered too dangerous to defuse.
Egypt IEDs are being used by insurgents against government forces during the
insurgency in Egypt (2013–present) and the
Sinai insurgency.
India IEDs are being used by
Maoists in India in their ongoing
insurgency. On 13 July 2011, three IEDs were used by the
Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir to carry out a
coordinated attack on the city of Mumbai, killing 19 people and injuring 130 more. 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. During the
2016 Pathankot attack, several casualties came from IEDs. 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 lies on its side following a buried IED blast in
Iraq (2007). In the
Iraq War (2003–2011),
insurgents used IEDs extensively against U.S.-led forces, and by the end of 2007 they were responsible for approximately 64% of
coalition deaths in Iraq. 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 deaths in the US-led invading coalition soldiers, were caused by IEDs, i.e. 41%: that is to say more than in the "normal fights" (1027 dead, 34%). which was struck by an approximately directed charge IED during the
Anbar campaign; the crew of the MRAP survived uninjured (September 2007). Common locations for placing these bombs on the ground included animal
carcasses,
soft drink cans, and
boxes. Typically, they exploded 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. 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. Both Iranian and Iraqi government officials denied the allegations. During the
Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017),
ISIL made extensive use of suicide
VBIEDs, often driven by children, elderly and disabled.
Ireland and the United Kingdom From 1912–1914, the
Suffragettes utilised IEDs in the
Suffragette bombing and arson campaign. During the
Irish War of Independence (1919–1921) the
Irish Republican Army, nowaday referred to as the "old IRA", used improvised explosive devices against the British armed forces. counter-IED robot on the streets of Northern Ireland (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 by completing an electrical circuit supplying power to the anti-handling device. Depending on the particular design (e.g.,
boobytrapped
briefcase 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 anti-personnel hand
grenades thrown at the target: such grenades were
pipe bombs and
nail bombs; other types were identified as "blast bombs" (offensive grenades with a limited danger-zone). IRA technicians also developed a homemade
anti-tank hand grenade, equipped with a
shaped charge warhead, called "Improvised Anti-Armour Grenade" (IAAG). (27 August 1979). 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, 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 are being used by
Hamas (
Al-Qassam Brigades) and other Palestinian militant groups during the
Gaza–Israel conflict, and more in general during the
Israeli–Palestinian conflict; such devices also include
shaped charges directly applied to the targets, and
explosively formed penetrators/projectiles (EFPs).
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. the first of two IEDs to damage a Merkava tank.
Nepal IEDs were widely used in the 10-years long
Nepalese Civil War by the Nepalese
People's Liberation Army (PLA), the armed wing of the
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). PLA fighters used rifles captured from the police and a variety of IEDs. The PLA lacked
mortars and crew-served weapons, and thus employed human-waves attacks of "martyrs" to break enemy defenses, resulting in heavy casualties. PLA regulars had excellent infantry skills, possibly indicating foreign training. IEDs were the main weapon the insurgents used against government forces, typically causing 35 percent of the deaths among
Royal Nepal Army (RNA) troops and 50 percent of injuries. Simple IEDs included hand-thrown "socket bombs" made with
black powder and shrapnel, and larger bombs made with steel pipes and
pressure cockers detonated by wire or remote control. The effectiveness of the IED campaign also suggested foreign training, probably from
Indian Maoists groups.
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 were used by the
Chechen insurgency following the
Second Chechen War.
Somalia Al Shabaab is using IEDs during the
Somali Civil War.
Sri Lanka IEDs were used frequently by the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in
Sri Lanka during the
Sri Lankan Civil War.
Syria (26 January 2019). 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. Along with mines and IEDs,
ISIL also used VBIEDs in Syria, including during
2017 Aleppo suicide car bombing. See also:
Improvised artillery in the Syrian civil war.
Uganda 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.
United States Numerous IEDs were built and disseminated by the Unabomber – nickname of
Theodore Kaczynski – starting from the late 1970s. (21 April 1995). In the 1995
Oklahoma City bombing,
Timothy McVeigh and
Terry Nichols built an IED with
ammonium nitrate fertilizer,
nitromethane, and stolen commercial explosives in a rental truck, with
sandbags used to concentrate the explosive force in the desired direction. McVeigh detonated it next to the
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people, 19 of whom were children. In January 2011, a
shaped pipe bomb was discovered and defused at a
Martin Luther King Jr. memorial march in
Spokane, Washington; no one was injured during the event. According to the FBI and the DHS, it was a directional anti-personnel IED, radio-controlled and designed to fire fragments – fishing weights coated in rat poison – similarly to a single shot shotgun with buckshot, or a cannon with a grapeshot round. 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. 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. In March of 2026 several home made bombs containing
TATP were thrown outside of
Gracie Mansion where New York City Mayor
Zohran Mamdani currently lives. The perpetrators of the attack later confessed they were influenced by
ISIS and Islamic extremist propaganda.
Ukraine IEDs are in use in the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and have also been used there for assassinations.
Vietnam 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. Among the various types of IEDs prepared by the Viet Cong there were also anti-aircraft ones, capable of damaging or destroying
helicopters during landing or when flying at low altitude. 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.
Yemen Houthis are using IEDs against Saudi-led coalition and Hadi's forces during
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present),
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen and
Saudi–Yemeni border conflict.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and
ISIL in Yemen are also known to use IEDs. ==See also==