Counter-IED call

Of concern to all forces in Afghanistan, the US Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization has released a broad agency announcement on January 17 calling for proposals that could help curb the spread of the kinds of home made explosives widely used in IEDs in Afghanistan.

The problem of precursor materials for home made bombs used against US forces in Afghanistan revolves almost exclusively around fertiliser production in neighbouring Pakistan.

Two calcium ammonium nitrate plants there are the sources for the majority of explosives used in IED attacks, defense officials have said.

It is uncertain what level of contribution these companies will make in the form of a response to the announcement posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website.

JIEDDO spokeswoman Air Force Colonel. Stephanie Holcombe wrote in a January 18 email statement to Inside the Army.

"There is no way to know if Pakistan will participate in this BAA and submit a plan," she wrote.

The ADF and the Department of Foreign Affairs have long been aware of the evidence trail linking Taliban bomb-makers with the Pak Arab factory -- Pakistan's biggest producer of calcium ammonium nitrate, the main ingredient needed for IEDs.

US and Australian defence intelligence sources say 80 per cent of ammonium nitrate used in roadside bombs in Afghanistan can be traced to Pak Arab Fertilisers Ltd in Multan, Pakistan.

The explosives issue was raised during bilateral talks on counter-terrorism co-operation between Australia and Pakistan at CHOGM.

At a meeting on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd told Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar to take "all practical efforts" to restrict the movement of bomb-making materials across the border.

He urged his Pakistan counterpart to stop the illicit movement of locally made explosives material into Afghanistan, where it is used to make roadside bombs.

It is the first time the issue of illicit Pakistan-sourced explosives material has been raised at a senior ministerial level between the two countries.

According to press reports Brigadier Wayne Budd, head of the ADF's counter-IED taskforce, said recently that there was no "silver bullet" to solve roadside bomb attacks.

However, the latest generation of mine-sweeping vehicles would provide the 1550-strong ADF taskforce with the "world's best" protection from the hidden scourge.

Australian troops will be better protected from IEDs by the introduction of ex- Canadian counter-IED systems comprising

• two HUSKY protected mobility vehicles fitted with ground penetrating radar (GPR); and
• one BUFFALO mine resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicle fitted with an interrogation arm and mast mounted Gyrocam camera.

The vehicles will be used by Australian Army engineers to detect explosive hazards, including mines and IEDs, to create a safe pathway for troops as they patrol Uruzgan province in Afghanistan.

They are in addition to a range of counter-IED systems provided under Force Protection measures announced in 2010.