Real, fake IEDs put Afghans at risk

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

08.28.2010

Courtesy Story

ISAF Joint Command

KABUL - Coalition forces found and removed an improvised explosive device that insurgents planted in the wall of a mosque in Arghandab District, Kandahar province, Monday.

After discussions with elders, coalition forces had no option but to use small charges to dislodge the IED. This resulted in minor damage to an exterior wall but not to the mosque itself.

The IED was a hoax IED - a device planted without any explosives and possibly intended to lure coalition forces to blow up the mosque in order to neutralize the perceived threat, according to a coalition official on the scene.

"This hoax event appears to be an insurgent operation designed to discredit [International Security Assistance Forces] in the eyes of the villagers by forcing coalition forces to destroy the mosque through the usual means of blowing immoveable devices in place," said the official.

"[Coalition forces] discussed the threat with local elders during the operation and were able to save the mosque while disposing of the device," he said.

"Insurgents deliberately created the circumstances that lead to the damage, and their actions put the mosque itself at great risk for damage," added the official.

Elsewhere in the province, Afghan citizens discovered and reported a wall-mounted IED along a well-traveled path to coalition forces in Arghandab District, Aug. 26.

Due to the location and height of the IED, insurgents who placed it were effectively targeting both Afghans and coalition forces passing through this high-traffic foot path, said a U.S. special forces commander in the area.

"The Afghans who live around here use this road all the time to go to the bazaar," the commander said.

Citizens noticed the bomb after spotting an out of place, freshly patched section of straw and dirt in a compound wall along the foot path.

Shortly after citizens notified the special forces team, an anti-explosives team was called to the site. Special forces then cleared the site of civilians and neutralized the bomb - which ignited the bomb's large cache of homemade explosives buried in the ground near the wall.

"A patrol of Afghan citizens who pointed this threat out shows that the local people have an active interest in stability here and in rejecting Taliban violence," said Lt. Col. Chris Riga, incoming commander for Special Operations Task Force - South.

• Date Taken: 08.28.2010
• Date Posted: 08.28.2010 10:53
• Story ID: 55311
• Location: KABUL, AF