Death rate from IEDs in Afghanistan so far in 2009 is triple the ’08 rate
Only a week after a Canadian government report called 2008 the deadliest year since the Afghanistan conflict began, 2009 is already on track to be deadlier still. Total deaths among all coalition forces due to IEDs—improvised explosive devices, or roadside bombs—stood at 32 after the first two months of the year, triple the rate for the same period in 2008. IED-related injuries are also up. Experts expect the level of violence will only increase when the US sends 17,000 fresh troops to the region. Afghan insurgents “had an eventful winter,” one observer says. “I’d expect an even more eventful summer.”