Easter Eggs

Last Sunday was Easter, and so we went on an easter egg hunt. Eggs come in many shapes and sizes here, and almost all of them are deadly. We find them, sometimes we paint them, and rarely- we collect them.

One type of bomb that we commonly find is the "speed bump". The name is inspired by the appearance of the bomb, and makes for some humorous moments in the truck when someone fails to specify that we are approaching a *non-explosive* speed bump. The insurgents make speed bumps from a wide variety of material- the common factor among all is a slim profile that blends in well on dirt roads or in potholes.

Sometimes, the insurgents sandwich plastic explosive between baking trays. On other occasions, the casing is welded steel packed with explosive. A few have been found that consisted of two 2x4s with explosive in the middle. They don't pose much of a threat to us- most bombs don't. A speed bump throws less shrapnel than a shell, and the blast is deflected by the v-shaped hulls of our vehicles. They can damage a humvee, though, and damage it badly if the bomb detonates under the soft belly.

On Easter, we were out all night, but all we found were a few bunnies (and a hedgehog).


**All the information about IEDs in this post is already open source. Go sic your OPSEC doggies somewhere else.**