Remote-Control Explosions Pose Threat in Afghanistan

[Judi Lynn]

Remote-Control Explosions Pose Threat in Afghanistan




Carlotta Gall/The New York Times
National Guard members in a force protection unit took fire practice in Gardez, where remote-controlled bombs have hit American soldiers.


By CARLOTTA GALL

Published: August 22, 2004

The New York Times
In Gardez, remote-controlled bombs have been more common.




GARDEZ, Afghanistan - In late June, just two weeks into his tour here, Pvt. Jeremy Kretz from Dubuque, Iowa, was driving in a convoy near the border with Pakistan when a remote-controlled explosion hit his Humvee, causing him to black out and blasting him and his companions with rocks and dust. The American soldiers got away with concussions, ruptured eardrums and gravel-peppered skin.
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But for the American military, and foreign and Afghan officials, remote-controlled explosions have become the biggest threat in Afghanistan. Although they are not being used on nearly the scale found in Iraq, they are becoming more common and increasingly sophisticated, military and other officials said in interviews.

That point was driven home over the weekend of Aug. 7, when two American soldiers and an Afghan interpreter were killed, and three more men were wounded, south of here by a powerful explosion that tossed their Humvee over and over in the air. The explosion was not only set off by remote control, probably with a radio set, but also was a "daisy chain" explosion, with explosives laid along the road and linked, to ensure a lethal blow.

Twelve election workers have been killed in explosions over the last few months as they have registered voters nationwide. Thirty-one American soldiers have been killed - 23 of them in combat - this year, most of them in roadside explosions or ambushes, a sharp increase over the same period last year. In the first week of August, the Gardez team recorded an incident every day, whether a clash with fighters suspected of being members of the Taliban or Al Qaeda, or explosions aimed at American forces or supply trucks, Lt. Evan McCrann said.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/22/international/asia/22afghan.html
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