IED Deaths Down, Except in Afghanistan

The total number of deaths and injuries caused by improvised explosive devices (IED) has seen a drop in countries under U.S. Central Command, with the exception of Afghanistan, according to an exclusive report by Foreignpolicy.com published Friday.

Insurgents have been driven out of cities they controlled in Iraq and Syria, but injuries and casualties from IEDs have risen in Afghanistan, with 3,043 people affected in 1,143 incidents between the beginning of April and the end of June of this year.

The numbers represent an eight percent increase in incidents and a 39 percent hike in deaths and injuries when compared to the previous 90 days.

Iraq, however, saw 15 percent fewer incidents during the same period.

The numbers are based on a report by the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization (JIDO), the Pentagon's bomb-fighting agency.

"In Afghanistan, you have a stalemate that favors the insurgents," said Anthony Cordesman, an Afghanistan expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He added the IEDs give insurgents "visibility, power, and influence."

According to the Pentagon, the U.S. currently has 11,000 troops in
Afghanistan, with another 4,000 expected to be deployed by the administration of President Donald Trump.

The primary victims of IED attacks are civilians, with 2,640 killed in Afghanistan in the first nine months of this year, 24 more than last year. There have been 13 coalition casualties in 2017 with four from IEDs, according to iCasualties.org.

"IEDs, particularly attacks on civilian populations, get them immense visibility," Cordesman said. "They know it works."

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