IED news stories on Newser

New Underwear Protects Troops

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:51:47 CDT

US troops are more protected "down there" thanks to new ballistic underwear, USA Today reports. Staff Sgt. Ross Cox was wearing the underwear when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan: His left foot was blown off and his right leg was shattered, but his injuries could have been much...

US Raids Have Captured, Killed 900 Taliban Leaders

Nick McMaster — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:42:42 CST

If the body count is any indication, coalition forces are making progress in Afghanistan: US-led military forces have captured or killed more than 900 Taliban leaders over the past 10 months, say military leaders. Special forces stepped up operations to decapitate the insurgent force by focusing on leadership as part...

Al-Qaeda Working on 'Nuclear 9/11'

Kevin Spak — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 12:22:30 CST

Al-Qaeda is actively pursuing the nuclear materials and rogue scientists necessary to make dirty bombs or worse, according to a series of documents released by WikiLeaks and published in the Daily Telegraph . In 2009, NATO security chiefs warned that al-Qaeda was working on “dirty radioactive IEDs,” and a year earlier...

Bomb-Sniffing Dog Given UK's Highest Military Honor

Harry Kimball — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:18:00 CST

A British military bomb-sniffing dog joined venerable company today when he was awarded the highest honor a war animal can receive for twice detecting IEDs in Afghanistan. The Dickin Medal was established in 1943 by the founder of an animal health organization. Treo’s handler tells the BBC that the 8-year-old...

'Hurt Locker' Brit Dies Disarming Afghan Bomb

Rob Quinn — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:18:56 CST

A British soldier with the kind of chillingly dangerous job featured in the movie Hurt Locker has been killed disarming a roadside bomb to clear a route for a new Afghan offensive. Warrant Officer David Markland, 36, had survived 8 stints in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan, the Times of London...

Marines Launch Large Attack in S. Afghanistan

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:02:51 CST

US Marines and Afghan troops today launched the first offensive since President Obama announced an American troop surge, striking against Taliban communications and supply lines in a southern insurgent stronghold. In all, about 1,000 Marines as well as Afghan troops were taking part in the operation in Helmand provvince,...

Roadside Bomb Strikes Afghan Gov's Convoy

Harry Kimball — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:50:07 CST

The governor of Kandahar narrowly escaped death today when a roadside bomb exploded underneath his convoy. Turyalai Wesa was on his way to prayers on the first day of Eid al-Adha, the holiest holiday on the Muslim calendar. Kandahar is the birthplace of the Taliban, a violent Afghan hotspot, and...

UK Colonel's Death Raises Fury at Home

John Johnson — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:07:33 CDT

Britain's newspapers are up in arms today over the revelation that a commander got killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan just weeks after warning his superiors they weren't doing enough to prevent such deaths. Lt. Col. Rupert Thorneloe complained in an email that troops didn't have enough helicopters and...

Afghanistan Troops Face Smarter, Fiercer IEDs

Jason Farago — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:05:52 CDT

The war in Afghanistan is getting deadlier for both coalition troops and Afghan forces, reports James Dao in the New York Times , mostly because of an increase in homemade bomb attacks—465 in May alone. The IEDs—improvised explosive devices—are getting more sophisticated as well as more common, and...