.IED numbers on the rise in Afghanistan
Insurgents in Afghanistan planted more bombs during the spring and summer than at any time during the war, as direct attacks on coalition troops have ebbed.
At the same time the military coalition in Afghanistan has more than doubled its seizures of enemy weapons and is finding a higher number of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, before they explode.
The latest Pentagon figures on IEDs show that insurgents planted 4,472 of the bombs from May through July, a 17% increase compared with the same three months in 2010. IEDs are the single largest cause of casualties among U.S. troops.
IEDs were not as effective a weapon due to measures taken by the military to locate them before they blow up, says the Pentagon. One military analyst says the large numbers of the bombs indicates the insurgency is well-supplied and not giving up.
"The IED numbers remain higher than predicted," says Michael O'Hanlon, a military analyst at the Brookings Institution. "That doesn't mean the strategy is a failure, but it does mean we face a very resilient, well-supplied insurgency."
The coalition strategy is to force out insurgents and prevent their return so the elected Afghan government can provide services and win the allegiance of locals. The Taliban ruled the country until forced out by a U.S.-led invasion in 2001.
Foot patrols at risk
IED events against dismounted coalition troops in Afghanistan:
That strategy has led to the killing and captures of hundreds of Taliban leaders in recent months and the leveling off of insurgent-initiated attacks. NATO says assaults on coalition forces dropped 20% in the first half of 2011 over 2010.
But the strategy requires daily foot patrols into villages and mountains where troops are vulnerable to hidden mines.
Of the IEDs planted in May-July, troops found 2,049 of them before they exploded, a 40% increase, according to the Joint IED Defeat Organization. And troops also found 1,548 weapons stashes during that time, a 145% increase.
The bombs wounded or killed 1,312 coalition troops, up from 1,294 in 2010.
"On one level it is shocking," Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa., a member of the Foreign Relations Committee who recently visited the area. "On another level, there is a sense of encouragement."
Casey led a delegation to press Pakistan to do more to cut shipments to Afghanistan of fertilizer, which insurgents combine with fuel to make cheap bombs in Afghanistan.
"They don't seem to share the same sense of urgency that we do," Casey said.
Preliminary data for August shows a decline of at least 100 in IEDs planted, said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Kaye Sweetser, a military spokeswoman.
"This is an indication that the Afghan locals are starting to be fed up with the insurgents and decreasing any kind of support to them," she said.
USAToday
At the same time the military coalition in Afghanistan has more than doubled its seizures of enemy weapons and is finding a higher number of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, before they explode.
The latest Pentagon figures on IEDs show that insurgents planted 4,472 of the bombs from May through July, a 17% increase compared with the same three months in 2010. IEDs are the single largest cause of casualties among U.S. troops.
IEDs were not as effective a weapon due to measures taken by the military to locate them before they blow up, says the Pentagon. One military analyst says the large numbers of the bombs indicates the insurgency is well-supplied and not giving up.
"The IED numbers remain higher than predicted," says Michael O'Hanlon, a military analyst at the Brookings Institution. "That doesn't mean the strategy is a failure, but it does mean we face a very resilient, well-supplied insurgency."
The coalition strategy is to force out insurgents and prevent their return so the elected Afghan government can provide services and win the allegiance of locals. The Taliban ruled the country until forced out by a U.S.-led invasion in 2001.
Foot patrols at risk
IED events against dismounted coalition troops in Afghanistan:
That strategy has led to the killing and captures of hundreds of Taliban leaders in recent months and the leveling off of insurgent-initiated attacks. NATO says assaults on coalition forces dropped 20% in the first half of 2011 over 2010.
But the strategy requires daily foot patrols into villages and mountains where troops are vulnerable to hidden mines.
Of the IEDs planted in May-July, troops found 2,049 of them before they exploded, a 40% increase, according to the Joint IED Defeat Organization. And troops also found 1,548 weapons stashes during that time, a 145% increase.
The bombs wounded or killed 1,312 coalition troops, up from 1,294 in 2010.
"On one level it is shocking," Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa., a member of the Foreign Relations Committee who recently visited the area. "On another level, there is a sense of encouragement."
Casey led a delegation to press Pakistan to do more to cut shipments to Afghanistan of fertilizer, which insurgents combine with fuel to make cheap bombs in Afghanistan.
"They don't seem to share the same sense of urgency that we do," Casey said.
Preliminary data for August shows a decline of at least 100 in IEDs planted, said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Kaye Sweetser, a military spokeswoman.
"This is an indication that the Afghan locals are starting to be fed up with the insurgents and decreasing any kind of support to them," she said.
USAToday
posted by madtom at 9:59 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home