Coalition deaths from IED attacks soar in Afghanistan
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
03/08/2009
WASHINGTON — Makeshift bomb attacks in Afghanistan killed three times as many coalition troops in the first two months of 2009 compared with the same period last year. The increase points to a strengthening insurgency and potentially more violence as warmer weather arrives along with intensified fighting.
The bombs, called improvised explosive devices, killed 32 coalition troops in January and February, compared with 10 during the same period in 2008. During the same time, 96 troops were wounded, a 146% increase from the 39 early last year, according to data from the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization. The numbers are final for January and preliminary for February.
Militants also appear to be using more sophisticated and powerful bombs, accounting for greater casualties, said Charles McMinn, deputy research manager for HMS, a counter-IED consulting firm that provides information to the Pentagon. Last week, a roadside bomb killed three Canadian soldiers in southern Afghanistan.
“It’s a reflection of the increased activity of the Taliban,” Sen. Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island and a member of the Armed Services Committee, said of the militants who ruled Afghanistan and harbored al-Qaeda until ousted by U.S.-led forces in 2001. “They’re adopting the tactics used by insurgents in Iraq.”
