Never Touch an IED: A Comprehensive Guide to Awareness, Dangers, and Safety

Introduction

In an increasingly complex world marked by conflicts, terrorism, and criminal activities, the threat posed by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) remains a significant concern for civilians, military personnel, and first responders alike. The mantra “Never Touch an IED” is not just a cautionary phrase—it’s a life-saving imperative rooted in the unpredictable and deadly nature of these devices. IEDs are homemade bombs designed to cause maximum harm with minimal resources, often hidden in everyday objects to evade detection. This article aims to provide an exhaustive exploration of IEDs, drawing from reliable sources to educate readers on their definition, history, types, components, dangers, identification methods, safety protocols, notable incidents, and prevention strategies. The goal is to foster awareness without providing any actionable details that could be misused. Remember: if you suspect an IED, evacuate the area immediately and contact authorities—professional bomb disposal experts are trained to handle these threats.

As illustrated in the safety poster below, awareness and immediate reporting are critical.

What is an IED?

An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) is defined as a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than conventional military action. It is a device placed or fabricated in an improvised manner, incorporating destructive, lethal, noxious, pyrotechnic, or incendiary chemicals, and designed to destroy, incapacitate, harass, or distract. IEDs can take virtually any form, from small pipe bombs to large, sophisticated setups capable of massive destruction. They are often the weapon of choice for terrorists, insurgents, criminals, vandals, violent extremists, and suicide bombers because their components are readily available and difficult to regulate.

Unlike factory-made explosives used in military contexts, IEDs are “improvised,” meaning they are assembled from non-military or commercial materials, though they may incorporate military-grade elements when available. The term “IED” gained widespread recognition during the Iraq War starting in 2003, but their use dates back centuries, evolving with technology and tactics. IEDs are unconventional weapons that can be activated in various ways, making them a persistent threat to peace, security, and humanitarian efforts worldwide.

Examples of IEDs

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) can take many forms, including roadside bombs hidden in vehicles or trash, pipe bombs, pressure cooker bombs, booby-trapped packages, and suicide vests. They may also be disguised as everyday objects such as toys, mobile phones, or even household appliances, making them difficult to detect. Some IEDs are triggered remotely using mobile phones, timers, or tripwires, while others are activated by pressure or motion.

History of IEDs

The history of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) is closely tied to the evolution of warfare and terrorism. Explosives have been used since ancient times, but modern IEDs trace their roots to guerrilla warfare and asymmetric conflicts. During World War II, resistance fighters in occupied Europe used homemade bombs against Nazi forces, demonstrating early examples of improvised devices.

In the Vietnam War, Viet Cong forces extensively employed booby traps and improvised mines against U.S. troops. These tactics highlighted how simple, low-cost explosives could inflict significant casualties on superior forces, setting a precedent for modern insurgency strategies.

The term “IED” gained prominence during the early 2000s, particularly in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Insurgents used IEDs to counter technologically advanced military forces, causing a significant portion of coalition casualties and prompting the establishment of specialized counter-IED units like the U.S. Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO).

Beyond military contexts, IEDs have been used in terrorist attacks worldwide. The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, carried out by domestic extremists using a truck bomb made from fertilizer and fuel, killed 168 people and highlighted the threat in civilian areas. In recent decades, groups like Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and lone actors have employed IEDs in markets, marathons, and other public spaces, showing the devices’ adaptability and global impact.

The United Nations notes that IEDs continue to harm civilians, disrupt humanitarian aid, and impede sustainable development efforts. By 2023, IED incidents had been reported in over 50 countries, with a noticeable shift toward urban terrorism and the use of chemical precursors to construct explosives.

Types of IEDs

IEDs are highly diverse, classified by their delivery method, activation mechanism, or intended target. Common types include:

Victim-Operated IEDs (VOIEDs): Triggered by the victim’s actions, such as stepping on a pressure plate or tripping a wire. These are akin to booby traps and are often buried or hidden in debris.

Command-Detonated IEDs: Activated remotely by an operator using radio signals, cell phones, or wires. This allows the attacker to time the explosion for maximum impact.

Time-Delay IEDs: Use timers or chemical delays to detonate after a set period, often placed in public areas.

Vehicle-Borne IEDs (VBIEDs): Explosives loaded into vehicles, ranging from cars to trucks, for ramming or parking near targets. These can cause widespread devastation.

Person-Borne IEDs (PBIEDs): Worn or carried by individuals, including suicide vests, which combine human delivery with explosives.

Waterborne or Animal-Borne IEDs: Less common, these involve hiding devices on boats, animals, or underwater.

IEDs can also be enhanced with shrapnel like nails, glass, or metal fragments to increase lethality. Their adaptability makes them difficult to predict or counter.

Components of an IED

While IED designs vary, they typically include five core elements: a switch (activator), an initiator (fuse), a container (body), a main charge (explosive), and a power source (battery). The main charge might consist of military explosives, commercial blasting materials, or homemade explosives (HMEs) derived from precursor chemicals like ammonium nitrate or fuel oil. Triggers can be infrared, magnetic, pressure-sensitive, or remote-controlled. Containers range from backpacks and pipes to vehicles or household items, camouflaging the device in plain sight.

Dangers and Impacts

The dangers of IEDs extend beyond the initial blast. Explosions produce primary effects like blast overpressure, which can rupture organs and cause traumatic brain injuries. Secondary effects include shrapnel wounds, while tertiary effects involve victims being thrown by the force. Quaternary effects encompass burns, crush injuries, and toxic exposures. IEDs kill and injure indiscriminately, affecting soldiers, civilians, and aid workers.

Economically, IED attacks disrupt infrastructure, halt humanitarian operations, and cost billions in response efforts. Psychologically, they instill fear and instability. In conflict zones like Afghanistan, IEDs have forced NGOs to suspend activities in affected areas. Globally, they contribute to mass casualties, as seen in attacks targeting crowded places.

Expert Complacency Risks

Despite their training and experience, bomb disposal experts can sometimes exhibit complacency when handling IEDs due to overconfidence, routine procedures, or familiarity with certain threat patterns. Such complacency can lead to underestimating new or improvised triggering mechanisms, overlooking hidden components, or failing to follow updated safety protocols. Given the constantly evolving nature of IED designs, even minor lapses in attention or judgment can result in serious injury or loss of life, emphasizing the critical need for vigilance, continuous training, and strict adherence to standard operating procedures.

How to Identify Potential IEDs

Identifying IEDs requires vigilance, not expertise. Common indicators include:

• Unusual objects: Abandoned bags, boxes, or vehicles in high-traffic areas.
• Wires or antennas protruding from items.
• Suspicious smells like chemicals or fuel.
• Disturbed soil or fresh digging in roadsides.
• Behavioral cues: Individuals acting nervously or avoiding areas.

In crowded places, watch for unattended items or modifications to everyday objects. However, never investigate—report suspicions to authorities.

 Safety Protocols: What to Do If You Suspect an IED

• The golden rule: Never touch, move, or tamper with a suspected IED. Doing so could trigger it, endangering yourself and others. Follow the “5 and 25” rule in some guidelines: Stay 5 meters away from small suspicious items and 25 meters from larger ones like vehicles.
• Evacuate: Calmly move away and warn others without causing panic.
• Report: Call emergency services (e.g., 911 in the US; emergency helplines (100 or 112) in India) or local authorities. Provide details like location and description without approaching.
• Isolate: If possible, secure the area from a distance.
• Wait for Professionals: Bomb squads use specialized tools for render-safe procedures.

In military or high-risk areas, training emphasizes route clearance and electronic countermeasures.

Notable IED Incidents in India

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) have remained a persistent and evolving instrument of asymmetric warfare in India, utilized across diverse theatres of conflict—from urban centres to border regions. These incidents illustrate a dangerous progression in explosive sophistication and delivery methods:

• 2006 Mumbai Train Bombings: The simultaneous detonation of seven pressure-cooker IEDs on the lifeline of India’s financial capital resulted in over 200 fatalities. This attack exposed the extreme vulnerability of high-density “soft targets” in urban transit systems.
• 2016 Pathankot Airbase Attack: This strike on a high-security military installation demonstrated the use of IEDs as “force multipliers” alongside fedayeen (suicide) tactics, where explosives were deployed to cause maximum casualties during the mopping-up operations.
• 2019 Pulwama Convoy Attack: The use of a high-yield Vehicle-Borne IED (VBIED) against a CRPF convoy marked a lethal shift in tactics. It highlighted the devastating potential of suicide-driven, heavy-payload explosives in conflict-prone corridors.
• Insurgencies in Central India (LWE) and the Northeast: Despite a sharp overall decline in Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) violence—incidents reduced by ~89% since 2010 and confined to just a few pockets in states like Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand—the persistent use of victim-operated “pressure-wire” IEDs and observer-detonated “command-wire” IEDs in rural, forested, and remote terrain remains a major threat to the mobility, safety, and operations of security forces in affected theatres, including residual Maoist activity in parts of West Bengal and evolving insurgent tactics in the Northeast.

These precedents underscore that the IED threat is not merely a technical challenge but a strategic one, requiring a synchronized response involving proactive intelligence, advanced electronic countermeasures, and heightened public vigilance to safeguard critical infrastructure and personnel.

Prevention and Countermeasures

Prevention involves restricting access to precursor chemicals, enhancing intelligence, and public education. Organizations like NATO have action plans to detect, neutralize, and disrupt IED networks. The UN promotes international standards for IED disposal and ammunition management. Community vigilance, surveillance in crowded places, and training for first responders are key. Research into detection technologies, like canine units and sensors, continues.

Institutional and Tactical Gaps in India’s Counter-IED Framework

The management of the IED threat in India is significantly hampered by a critical lack of standardized, high-tech detection equipment at the district and local police levels, often forcing first responders to rely on outdated tools or reactive measures rather than proactive electronic countermeasures. This technological gap is exacerbated by the diverse geographical theatres of conflict—ranging from dense urban centres to thick jungle terrain—which demand vastly different tactical responses, yet are often met with a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Furthermore, the ease of access to dual-use commercial precursors (such as ammonium nitrate) and the lack of a centralized, real-time database for tracking IED signatures across different states hinder the ability of intelligence agencies to map the shifting “signature” of bomb-makers, ultimately resulting in a security posture that is frequently playing catch-up to the evolving ingenuity of non-state actors.

Conclusion

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) remain a serious — though sharply declining — threat, particularly in the few remaining pockets affected by Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) and Naxalite-Maoist insurgency in states such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha. Significant progress has been achieved in recent years. The number of LWE-affected districts has decreased dramatically from 126 in 2018 to only 8 as of December 2025 (per Ministry of Home Affairs data presented in Lok Sabha in February 2026), with just 3 districts now classified as “most-affected” (primarily Bijapur, Sukma, and Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh). Violent incidents have fallen by ~88% from the 2010 peak, alongside record surrenders (over 2,300 in 2025), neutralizations, and arrests. The Government remains committed to eradicating Naxalism completely by March 31, 2026, as reaffirmed by Union Home Minister in recent high-level security reviews.

However, sporadic IED attacks persist, such as those injuring security personnel in Bijapur and other core areas. These incidents highlight the importance of constant vigilance. Understanding the nature of IEDs—without attempting to handle or investigate them—is crucial for safety.

The golden rule remains: never touch, approach, move, or tamper with a suspected IED. Citizens should evacuate the area calmly, warn others without causing panic, maintain safe distances (25–50 meters for larger objects), and immediately report to police, emergency services (100 or 112 in India), or specialized bomb disposal units like state Bomb Squads or the NSG.

By staying informed through official sources such as the Ministry of Home Affairs, state police advisories, or the National Bomb Data Centre (NBDC), and prioritizing professional intervention, the public can contribute to a safer India. Collective awareness, vigilance, and adherence to protocols are key to preventing tragedies caused by these unpredictable devices.

References

• United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. (2016). The use of improvised explosive devices. In World humanitarian data and trends 2015 (pp. 68–69). United Nations. https://doi.org/10.18356/f0a66b71‑en
• United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). (2023). UNAMA report records heavy toll on Afghan civilians by IED attacks. United Nations. Retrieved from https://unama.unmissions.org/
• Action on Armed Violence. (2022). How to address the harms from IEDs [Report]. https://aoav.org.uk/2022/how‑to‑address‑the‑harms‑from‑ieds/
• Government of India, National Security Guard. (2025). Role and tasks of the National Bomb Data Centre (NBDC). https://nsg.gov.in/index.php/nbdc/role‑and‑tasks
• Press Information Bureau. (2026, January 9). Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah inaugurates National IED Data Management System (NIDMS) of NSG. Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Retrieved from https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2212841
• https://aoav.org.uk/2022/how-to-address-the-harms-from-ieds/