UZIEL Fighting System: Police & Military CQC/H2H FEBRUARY 2014 | Page 9

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2008 sees the passing of the “Justice and Accountability Law” which allows former Baathist members
(vetted to ensure that they were not part of Hussein’s upper echelon) government positions. 19
Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz states IED attacks have dropped to 2004 levels and that Jihadist groups are planting
400 bombs a month which is a sizeable drop from 2,800 a month seen in 2007 statistics. 20 Countermeasures in 2008
are credited to more aggressive intelligence (HUMINT) gathering tactics. MRAPS have lowered CF IED related
deaths and injuries.
Iraq: 2009-2014
The Government of Iraq assumed control of the Green Zone from American Forces in 2009 marking an
initial transition of power. 21 In response, Al Qaeda affiliates The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) used two
suicide bombers in Baghdad to kill 155 people and wound 700 others on October 25, 2009. 22 ISIL followed this with
another five bombs on December 8, again in Baghdad murdering 120 civilians with another 400 being injured. 23 In
the five years leading up to 2010, the Pentagon estimates that over 21,000 civilians have died from IEDs with
68,000 suffering injuries. 24 VBIED and SIED identified as the two main types.
The UN has warned that although 8,868 Iraqis were killed in 2013 the problem with sectarian violence has only
worsened and 2014 could see these numbers swell as Al Qaeda becomes more entrenched. 25 The US government put
a bounty of 10 million dollars on the current leader of AQI, “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi” in 2013. 26
The Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) has continued to work over the last
5 years in partnership with private industry to develop state of the art IED robotics. Beyond the advancements in
technology based solutions there has also been an effort to take what has been learned from Iraq & Afghanistan and
translate this experience into training provided by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). Detecting and disarming IEDs is
a crucial skillset that must be learned but identifying insurgent ܛ