There are fundamentally two types of explosive weapons in the world.
There are those that are manufactured in the legitimate way – usually weapons created by publicly listed companies, sanctioned by governments and used by States that are internationally recognised for their sovereignty.
And there are those that are ‘home-made’. Improvised weapons that are made using whatever explosive materials are available, outside international and national control and are often used by groups that are not recognised as States. These are improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
The vast majority of IEDs in the world are used non-state actors (NSAs). And the majority of non-state actors who use explosive weapons use IEDS.
Action on Armed Violence charts the use of IEDs globally. This section provides reports on three of the main users of IEDs: The Taliban, Islamic State and Boko Haram
For more information on the use of IEDs by these three groups, please click on the images below.
Did you find this story interesting? Please support AOAV's work and donate.
Donate