FED:IED poses greatest threat in Afghanistan

AAP General News (Australia)
02-04-2011
FED:IED poses greatest threat in Afghanistan

By Max Blenkin, AAP Defence Correspondent

CANBERRA, Feb 4 AAP - Of the 22 Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan in just under
a decade, 12 have died as a result of the explosion of improvised explosive devices (IEDs)
set by Taliban insurgents.

IEDs come in many shapes and sizes.

But in the simplest form, an IED comprises one of the ubiquitous yellow four-litre
palm oil containers filled with fertiliser-based explosive, typically a mixture of ammonium
nitrate and diesel fuel.

Into that is inserted a detonator, attached to an …