Conference hears how UAE Armed Forces defused thousands of IEDs in six countries
Thousands of improvised explosive devices were defused by the UAE Armed Forces last year, saving countless lives, a forum heard yesterday in Abu Dhabi.
Explosive ordnance disposal teams “successfully neutralised 2,610 IEDs in the coastal front alone,” said Maj Gen Saleh Mohammed Al Ameri, commander of land forces.
He was speaking to an audience of about 200 officers and guests gathered for the first C-IED Lessons Learned Conference held at the Armed Forces Officers Club.
The bombs were found in six unidentified countries last year and safely disposed of.
The threat of improvised explosive devices continues to be a “top priority” for the UAE military, said Maj Gen Al Ameri.
In Yemen last year, 146 people were killed in blasts caused by improvised bombs, according to the Armed Forces, including 30 children, while 164 were injured, including 28 children and 26 women.
“The Iranian Houthi militias began extensively using various types of IEDs, especially when the Arab Coalition Forces launched the operation to liberate the Red Sea coastal cities last year,” he said.
“These guerrillas have never used such new types of IEDs before. These militias would not be able to develop methods of killing and destruction unless supported by a regional network of terrorist-sponsoring states and organisations that provide them with money, equipment and expertise.”
Samples of the IEDs collected were displayed at the twoday conference, which continues today.
One IED on display looked like a sophisticated rocket, while another appeared in the shape of a boulder that could be camouflaged to look like any typical rock, but was hollowed out to contain the bomb. Another was simply a tangle of wires and a fourth was a water can rigged with explosives.
“Improved explosive devices constitute a terrorist’s most lethal threat for killing and destruction, thus demoralising civilians and pushing them to lose confidence in their government’s ability to protect them,” said Maj Gen Al Ameri.
“This threat also affects the military units by limiting their ability to move and manoeuvre. In spite of being tactical weapons, improvised explosive devices have great impact at the strategic level.”
The conference featured representatives from the US, UN, France, Pakistan, UAE, Saudi Arabia and the UK, who will demonstrate lessons learnt through their experiences of IEDs in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Africa, Pakistan and Yemen.
“The IED threat is everchanging and evolving,” the general said.
“Unlike 10 years ago, terrorists are no longer restricted to land means ... they have widened the threat to include airborne IEDs and waterborne IEDs.”
Officials from the United Nations Mine Action Service also spoke of the effect of IEDs in Somalia. Since last year, there have been 484 detonations, including a lorry bomb at a busy intersection that killed more than 500 people.
“It has now become the weapon of choice for local insurgents,” said Quentim Ygorra, a C-IED operations analyst with the UNMAS.