Taliban and allied militants used improvised explosive devices as a central insurgent weapon against Afghan government, NATO, and U.S.-led forces, including roadside, command-detonated, and pressure-plate devices.
| Claim | Sources |
|---|---|
| Taliban forces used IEDs during the post-2001 insurgency against Afghan government and international forces. | Sources: AAN Taliban IEDs |
| Pressure-plate IEDs remained in use in 2020, with UNAMA attributing almost all recorded incidents that year to the Taliban. | Sources: UNAMA 2020 Protection of Civilians |
| Anti-government non-suicide IEDs were the leading recorded cause of civilian casualties in the first half of 2021. | Sources: UNAMA 2021 Midyear Update |
Timeline
AAN describes Taliban forces remobilizing after their 2001 defeat and later using road mines and IEDs against Afghan government and international targets.
Sources: AAN Taliban IEDs
AAN reports that Taliban IED attacks peaked in 2011 and cites a U.S. Army figure of 1,600 attacks in two months.
Sources: AAN Taliban IEDs
UNAMA reported a 35 percent increase in civilian casualties from pressure-plate IEDs in 2020, with the Taliban responsible for almost all incidents.
Sources: UNAMA 2020 Protection of Civilians
UNAMA's midyear update for 2021 said non-suicide IEDs by anti-government elements were the leading cause of civilian casualties in the first six months of the year and recorded a 42 percent increase in pressure-plate IED casualties.
Sources: UNAMA 2021 Midyear Update
Improvised explosive devices were used by Taliban and allied anti-government forces throughout the Afghanistan insurgency. Afghanistan Analysts Network describes the Taliban turning to IEDs after 2001 as a way to fight better-equipped Afghan government and international forces, first relying on remote and wire-command devices and later shifting toward pressure-plate IEDs in many areas.
UNAMA's 2020 civilian-protection report separately documented continued Taliban responsibility for almost all pressure-plate IED incidents it recorded that year, while its 2021 midyear update said non-suicide IEDs by anti-government elements were the leading cause of civilian casualties in the first six months of 2021.
Sources: AAN Taliban IEDs, UNAMA 2020 Protection of Civilians, UNAMA 2021 Midyear Update
After the Taliban remobilized following its 2001 defeat, IED use became part of a broader guerrilla campaign against Afghan government and international targets. AAN describes early use of road mines and small-unit attacks before IEDs became one of the insurgency's most important weapons.
By 2011, AAN reports that Taliban IED attacks had peaked at very high volume, citing a U.S. Army figure of 1,600 attacks in two months. In the conflict's final years, UNAMA recorded persistent civilian harm from non-suicide and pressure-plate IEDs, with a 35 percent increase in civilian casualties from pressure-plate IEDs in 2020 and a 42 percent increase in the first half of 2021.
Sources: AAN Taliban IEDs, UNAMA 2020 Protection of Civilians, UNAMA 2021 Midyear Update
The IED role in Afghanistan was primarily insurgent interdiction and area denial. AAN characterizes the devices as an asymmetric answer to air power and better-equipped government and coalition units: roadside and pressure-plate devices reduced the need for Taliban fighters to confront those forces directly, while also making road movement and reinforcement routes dangerous.
The documented weapon family included remote or wire-command IEDs and victim-operated pressure-plate devices. AAN reports that local Taliban groups varied in their use, with pressure-plate devices common in some southern districts and more restricted in other areas. UNAMA treated pressure-plate devices used in Afghanistan as victim-operated devices functioning as anti-personnel landmines and repeatedly called on the Taliban to ban them.
The strongest direct evidence supports Taliban and anti-government use, not Afghan government or coalition use. The catalog row therefore lists the side as Taliban and allied militants, with roles matching insurgent or guerrilla use, interdiction, area denial, and asymmetric advantage.
Sources: AAN Taliban IEDs, UNAMA 2020 Protection of Civilians
