U.S. intelligence has determined Iraqi insurgents have resorted to using children and toys to deliver bombs, and also hiding bombs in corpses, ABC News reports. A State Department document said at least five improvised explosive devices -- referred to as IEDs -- have been placed in mannequins sometimes dressed as U.S. or Iraqi military personnel, the report said. Human and animal corpses have also been loaded with explosives and detonated when Iraqi or coalition forces attempt to remove the bodies.
Others have pretended to be "sheep herders to conduct surveillance activity" and "used children to carry IEDs into sensitive areas," and have embedded explosives in "watermelons, trees, tree stumps, and on guard rails," the report said. Extremists also use "garage door openers, cellular and satellite telephones, car alarms, and keyless entry systems as remote-controlled detonators for IEDs," the report said. However, the U.S. Army's National Ground Intelligence Center said vehicle-borne explosives continue to be the weapon of choice for terrorists, with at least 600 such attacks from May 2004 to January 2005. |