Improvised Explosive Devices research
AOAV is one of the few charities that has a particular research focus on Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Please find below our research on a weapon that causes more death and injury than any other explosive weapon group.
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The Improvised Explosive Device and ‘The Propaganda of the Deed’
The IED has proliferated in an increasingly digital world, one vulnerable to both violent propaganda and, when that translates into action, the actual violence of the ‘Propaganda of the Deed’. This report examines how this happened.
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The challenge IEDs pose for the Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) sector
Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have wreaked havoc worldwide, killing and maiming thousands, and spreading fear and disruption to affected communities. Rendering IEDs safe has traditionally been the remit of military explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) personnel, rather than the humanitarian mine action (HMA) sector.
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An examination of the precursor chemicals found within IEDs
Home Made Explosive (HME) has been used in military and commercial explosive engineering applications for over a millennium, but the last 50 years have seen it metastasize in IEDs.
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IEDs: past, present and future
In the last decade 171,732 people were harmed by IEDs - some 48% of all people killed or injured by explosive weapons globally. This paper sets out to give historic and current context to the IED's spread.
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‘Material Harm’ – a review of IED components and measures to prevent their spread
AOAV looks at the primary components of an IED, analysing the global transfer of materials and attempts to regulate them.
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‘Tracking IED harm’ – Monitoring Improvised Explosive Device use
AOAV's report considers 18 organisations collecting data on IED harm, highlighting limitations and good practice examples, with a case study on UNAMA in Afghanistan.
Between October 2010 and the end September 2020, there have been 28,729 incidents of explosive violence, resulting in 357,619 casualties (263,487 civilians) recorded in English language media worldwide. Of these, 171,732 people were recorded as being from IEDs – a number that includes both civilians and armed actors. 48% of all people killed or injured by explosive weapons globally, then, were harmed by IEDs.
AOAV’s key IED reports include: IEDs: past, present and future (pdf); An examination of the precursor chemicals found within IEDs (pdf); The Challenge IEDs Pose for the Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) Sector (pdf) The Improvised Explosive Device and ‘The Propaganda of the Deed’ (pdf); Addressing the threat posed by IEDs (pdf); Understanding the rising cult of the suicide bomber (pdf); Understanding the regional and transnational networks that facilitate IED use; Tracking IED Harm (pdf); Anatomy of a Suicide Bombing (pdf); Material Harm (pdf); and Blood on the Streets of Boston (pdf).
