NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization

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IEDs, or Improvised Explosive Devices, are one of the main causes of casualties among troops and exact a heavy toll on local populations.

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An Improvised Explosive Device is an unconventional explosive weapon that can take any form. Designed to cause death or injury, IEDs are hidden and set off using a variety of trigger mechanisms.

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Cheap and effective, Improvised Explosives Devices are the weapons currently favoured by insurgents and rebels and are widely used against coalition troops and civilians in Afghanistan.

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IEDs are easily hidden, for example in animals, planted in roads or strapped to a person. They can be detonated via cell phones or trip wires, among other methods. They can be deployed everywhere in a combat environment or in the middle of a busy city.

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According to a UN report, 2,777 civilians were killed in 2010 in Afghanistan, an increase of 15 per cent compared to 2009. Of that number, suicide attacks and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were to blame for 1,141 deaths, or just over 40 per cent.

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Currently, the most effective tool against remotely-activated IEDs is radio frequency jammers, according to Franco Fiore, Counter IED Principal Scientist at NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A).

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NATO C3 Agency has recently deployed jammers against remotely controlled IEDs, installing them on ISAF vehicles and at Entry Control Points.

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Counter_IEDs (C-IEDs) is one of 11 items endorsed by Heads of State and Government as part of the 2010 Lisbon Summit Package of "most pressing capability needs".

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NATO, under the guidance of Allied Command Transformation (ACT) and in line with the NATO C-IED Action Plan, provides C-IED training to troops as they prepare to deploy, while ISAF provides further training in Afghanistan.

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Chemical or biological material may also be added to IEDs to make a dirty bomb. This threatens life beyond the initial explosion.

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The NATO C3 Agency is installing C-IED sensors to prevent Vehicle Borne IEDs and Suicide Bombers from entering ISAF bases. Currently, over 20 of these sensors are in use at ISAF HQ, Kabul International Airport (KBL) and Kandahar Airfield (KAF), scanning vehicles, people and hand luggage.

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NATO's Emerging Security Challenges Division, Counter terrorism Section, with the support of the NATO C3 Agency, is looking at new technologies to detect roadside bombs in order to protect soldiers travelling in convoys.