Direct proof of use
Explosively formed penetrator IEDs entered documented Iraq theater use during the occupation phase of the 2003 Iraq War. DSIAC's 2019 technical article says EFPs made their initial entrance into the Iraqi theater in 2004 and were often selected by insurgents for attacks against coalition vehicles.
Official U.S. and coalition reporting also documented field use and interdiction inside Iraq. A September 2008 DVIDS article from Multi-National Division-Central reported 16 EFP strikes in that command's Iraq area of operations since June 2008 and described the devices as shaped charges designed to defeat armor.
Sources: DSIAC Improvised EFP Characterization, DVIDS MND-C EFP Strikes
Caches and users
The most concrete physical evidence came from repeated cache discoveries. On October 23, 2007, coalition forces found what DVIDS described as the largest single-location EFP cache then discovered in Iraq: 124 fully assembled EFPs, 159 copper disks, more than 600 pounds of C-4 and other explosives, mortar rounds, rockets, mortar tubes, and claymore-type mines in a home in Sa'ada village near Khan Bani Sa'ad.
A September 2008 DVIDS/War.gov report described another cache southeast of Samrah Village in Babil province with more than 2,500 bomb-making components. The report said the seizure was expected to disrupt explosively formed projectile attacks in central Iraq and identified complete EFP components, C-4, copper plates, back plates, retaining rings, and steel bodies used by the enemy to make EFPs.
Sources: DVIDS Saada EFP Cache, DVIDS Babil EFP Components
Role in the conflict
In Iraq-war use, EFP IEDs were anti-armor roadside and ambush weapons. The DSIAC article ties their tactical appeal to attacks on coalition vehicles, while DVIDS described the Iraq devices as focusing explosive energy into a metal slug able to penetrate armor.
Coalition attribution separated general insurgent use from more specific claims about Shiite extremist groups and Iranian-linked supply. A February 2007 U.S. Army article quoted Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell saying that Shiite extremist elements were using EFPs and that coalition officials found such weapons and munitions concentrated in Shiite hands. The usage record treats that as attributed coalition reporting, not an independent finding about external sponsorship.
Sources: DSIAC Improvised EFP Characterization, DVIDS MND-C EFP Strikes, Army Caldwell EFP Attribution
Technical and tactical context
The Iraqi theater evidence shows both crude local fabrication and organized component supply. DSIAC characterized recovered improvised copper EFPs of about 4 inches diameter, while DVIDS cache reporting documented complete devices alongside copper disks, plates, retaining rings, steel bodies, and explosives.
Coalition forces responded to the EFP threat with countermeasures and vehicle-protection changes. DSIAC links EFP lethality to changes in coalition tactics, techniques, and procedures, including electronic and physical countermeasures, increased HMMWV armor, and later mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles such as Cougars and Buffalo vehicles entering operational use in 2007.
Sources: DSIAC Improvised EFP Characterization, DVIDS Saada EFP Cache, DVIDS Babil EFP Components
