Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are homemade or repurposed explosive weapons built from non-military or adapted military materials, making them cheap, adaptable, and hard to trace. They have become a hallmark of modern asymmetric warfare and terrorism, widely used in conflict zones from Iraq and Afghanistan to Africa and South Asia. Insurgent and extremist groups rely on IEDs because they can be easily concealed, deployed in varied forms such as roadside bombs or vehicle-borne devices, and continually modified to bypass countermeasures. Their design and methods of deployment keep evolving with technology and tactical shifts, ensuring that IEDs remain one of the most persistent and dangerous threats in contemporary security environments.
- Command-Operated IEDs
Command-operated IEDs are explosive devices triggered remotely by attackers using radios, mobile phones, wired switches, or similar signaling tools. They give perpetrators control over the exact timing of an attack, often aimed at police personnel, military convoys, patrols, checkpoints, or high-value individuals. Their main advantages include precise timing, reduced risk of accidental detonation, and the ability to cancel an attack if conditions change. However, security forces have developed electronic countermeasures like signal jammers to block remote triggers, which has reduced their effectiveness. As a result, while these devices are still used, they are increasingly being supplemented or replaced by other methods that can bypass jamming technologies.
- Time-Operated IEDs
Time-operated IEDs are explosive devices fitted with mechanical or electronic timers that detonate at a pre-set moment, often used in urban terrorism, coordinated attacks across multiple locations, or assaults on public events. Their design allows perpetrators to escape before detonation, synchronize with other attacks, and maximize both media coverage and psychological impact. However, these devices are highly dangerous because they can be indiscriminate, leading to significant civilian casualties, and their delayed nature complicates evacuation and emergency response efforts, making them a persistent challenge for security forces.
- Victim-Operated IEDs (Increasing Global Concern)
Victim-operated IEDs are devices triggered by the unintended actions of a victim, such as stepping on a pressure plate, opening an object, or disturbing a concealed wire. In recent years (2024–2026), their use has notably increased in South Asia and parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in rural and contested territories. These devices are often deployed to deny access to roads, farmland, and infrastructure. Their popularity among insurgent groups is rising because they are immune to electronic jammers, require no operator nearby, and can create long-lasting area denial even after placement.
The humanitarian impact of victim-operated IEDs is severe, as they function much like landmines and disproportionately harm civilians, children, agricultural workers, and aid personnel. Beyond immediate casualties, they restrict economic recovery, prevent displaced populations from returning home, and place heavy burdens on demining and humanitarian clearance operations. This growing reliance on victim-operated devices represents one of the most concerning recent shifts in IED tactics, combining persistence with indiscriminate harm.
- Vehicle-Borne IEDs (VBIEDs)
Vehicle-Borne IEDs (VBIEDs) are explosives hidden in vehicles such as cars, trucks, or motorcycles, designed to deliver large payloads, breach fortified perimeters, and cause mass destruction. They are often used against military bases, government buildings, urban centers, and critical infrastructure, making them one of the most destructive forms of IED deployment. Their tactical use allows attackers to move explosives closer to targets and maximize damage in crowded or strategic areas.
The impact of VBIEDs is severe, as they can cause mass casualties, destroy infrastructure, and create psychological shock that extends far beyond the immediate blast zone. While their frequency varies across regions depending on group capabilities and security conditions, VBIEDs remain a persistent threat due to their ability to combine mobility, concealment, and devastating explosive power. This makes them a favored tactic for insurgent and extremist groups seeking both physical destruction and symbolic impact.
- Suicide IEDs
Suicide IEDs are explosive devices carried or worn by individuals who manually detonate them, often to bypass security checkpoints and ensure detonation at the exact moment of attack. They are designed to cause maximum casualties while also generating strong psychological and media impact. For security forces, these devices pose serious challenges because attackers are mobile, unpredictable, and can blend into civilian environments, leaving little time to react once identified. Although suicide bombings were heavily publicized in past decades, their use today varies across regions depending on group ideology, recruitment capacity, and tactical objectives.
- Explosively Formed Penetrators (EFPs)
Explosively Formed Penetrators (EFPs) are a specialized type of IED designed to fire a high-speed metal slug capable of piercing armored vehicles. They were widely used during the Iraq conflict, particularly against military convoys, and proved highly lethal in roadside ambushes because they can defeat conventional armor. Unlike simpler IEDs, EFPs require greater technical expertise to construct and deploy, which has limited their use to regions and groups with the necessary skills and resources. While more sophisticated than other devices, their deployment has remained regionally concentrated rather than widespread.
- Nature of Operation of IEDs
IEDs operate through different mechanisms depending on their design and intended effect. Command-operated IEDs are detonated remotely by attackers using mobile phones, radios, or switches, giving them control over timing. Time-operated IEDs rely on mechanical or electronic timers to explode at a set moment, often used in coordinated attacks. Victim-operated IEDs are triggered by a person’s actions, such as stepping on a pressure plate or disturbing a wire, making them similar to landmines. Vehicle-borne IEDs (VBIEDs) conceal explosives inside cars or trucks to deliver large blasts against military bases or urban centers. Suicide IEDs are carried by individuals who manually detonate them, bypassing checkpoints and maximizing psychological impact. More advanced devices like Explosively Formed Penetrators (EFPs) project high-speed metal slugs capable of piercing armored vehicles. These varied methods of operation show how IEDs adapt to different environments and countermeasures, making them a persistent and evolving threat.
- Nature of IEDs Used by Left Wing Extremists (LWE)
In India’s Left-Wing Extremist (LWE) affected regions, IEDs remain one of the biggest threats to security personnel. These devices are often victim-operated, triggered by pressure plates or concealed wires, making them similar to landmines and particularly dangerous in rural and forested areas. Bastar Police alone seized over 1,200 IEDs since 2020, with hundreds recovered in 2024, showing the scale of deployment. Extremists frequently use them to deny access to roads, farmland, and infrastructure, targeting patrols and convoys of police and paramilitary forces. Their reliance on victim-operated systems has grown because such devices are immune to electronic jammers and require no operator nearby, creating persistent hazards long after placement. This evolving tactic not only causes casualties among security forces but also severely impacts civilians, aid workers, and local communities, making IEDs a central weapon in LWE operations.
LWE (Left-Wing Extremist) groups have historically concealed IEDs in a wide range of ordinary, low-profile objects to evade suspicion and exploit routine civilian and security movement; commonly reported examples include tiffin/lunch boxes, pressure cookers, bicycles and motorcycle frames, gas cylinders, water cans, milk cans, steel trunks, tool boxes, school bags and backpacks, fertilizer or cement bags, road-side culverts and pipes, tree stumps, stones and boulders, electric junction boxes, abandoned radios or TVs, oil drums, buckets, cooking vessels, shoes or footwear, and vehicle components such as spare tyres or fuel tanks, with such everyday items deliberately chosen to blend into rural, forested, and semi-urban environments and to complicate detection by security forces.
- Emerging and Evolving Trends
Emerging trends in IED use show a shift toward more complex and unpredictable designs. One major development is the rise of hybrid triggering systems, where devices combine multiple activation mechanisms such as time-delay and victim-activated components. This makes them harder to detect and neutralize, increasing the risk for both security forces and civilians. By layering triggers, attackers create uncertainty and complicate counter-IED operations, forcing militaries and humanitarian teams to adapt constantly.
Another concerning trend is urban concealment and camouflage. IEDs are increasingly hidden within everyday items like household goods, abandoned bags, motorcycles, bicycles, or even construction debris and roadside trash. The goal is to evade human detection and surveillance systems, making them blend seamlessly into the urban environment. This tactic not only increases the likelihood of civilian casualties but also undermines public confidence in the safety of daily spaces such as markets, roads, and public transport hubs.
Low-cost, decentralized production networks have also become more common. With access to online propaganda, encrypted communication platforms, and illicit supply chains, extremist groups can now produce IEDs without relying on centralized bomb-making facilities. This decentralization makes it harder for authorities to track and dismantle production hubs, allowing smaller cells to operate independently and sustain prolonged insurgencies. The affordability and accessibility of materials further fuel this trend, making IEDs a persistent threat even in resource-limited regions.
Finally, IEDs serve as powerful tools of psychological and information warfare. Their unpredictable nature disrupts daily life, undermines public confidence, and creates long-term fear even in post-conflict environments. Beyond physical destruction, they are used strategically to destabilize societies, prolong insurgencies, and amplify media coverage of attacks. This dual role—both as a weapon and a psychological tool—ensures that IEDs remain central to asymmetric warfare, demanding countermeasures that address not only the physical threat but also the broader social and psychological impact.
- Broader Impact Beyond Immediate Casualties
IEDs cause damage that goes far beyond the immediate casualties of an explosion, affecting societies on economic, humanitarian, and political levels. Economically, they disrupt trade routes, raise insurance and security costs, and destroy infrastructure. Humanitarian efforts are hindered as aid delivery becomes restricted, reconstruction slows, and agricultural land may remain contaminated for years. Politically, IEDs destabilize fragile governments, prolong insurgencies, and place heavy strain on international peacekeeping missions. In this way, their impact extends well past the blast site, shaping long-term instability and insecurity in affected regions.
- Counter-IED Strategies (High-Level Overview)
Counter-IED strategies involve a multi-layered approach developed by governments and international organizations to reduce the threat and impact of these weapons. Technology plays a key role through detection systems, electronic countermeasures, and forensic analysis, while specialized explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) units provide critical training and expertise. Intelligence efforts focus on disrupting supply chains and financial networks that support IED construction, and community engagement helps raise public awareness and encourage reporting. In post-conflict areas, clearance operations and victim assistance programs are essential to restore safety and stability. No single measure can eliminate the threat, so effective mitigation depends on integrated civil-military cooperation and long-term resilience.
- Fatal Consequences of Negligence in Handling IEDs
The death of security personnel—including even trained members of Bomb Disposal Squads—has repeatedly resulted from negligence or procedural lapses in the handling of IEDs, such as inadequate cordoning and area domination, failure to detect secondary devices, improper use of protective gear and tools, haste or overconfidence during neutralisation, and deviation from established standard operating procedures, highlighting that IEDs are inherently unforgiving weapons where even minor errors can prove fatal and where strict discipline, patience, and full compliance with safety protocols are essential to prevent loss of life.
Conclusion
IEDs remain one of the most defining weapons of asymmetric conflict, continuing to pose serious threats across regions. While command-operated and vehicle-borne devices are still widely used, the recent rise of victim-operated systems shows a shift toward persistent, area-denial tactics that carry severe humanitarian consequences. As extremist groups adapt their methods, counter-IED strategies must also evolve—combining technological innovation, intelligence sharing, and community resilience. Addressing the threat requires not only immediate tactical countermeasures but also long-term efforts focused on stabilization, prevention, and reducing the conditions that allow such weapons to thrive.
