'Sticky Bombs' Spread Fear in Baghdad

Insurgents shift to smaller devices as security tightens
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 14, 2008 6:00 AM CST
'Sticky Bombs' Spread Fear in Baghdad
An Iraqi man inspects vehicles destroyed in a car bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008.    (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Small explosives dubbed "sticky IEDs" are contributing to a growing feeling of unease in Baghdad, the New York Times reports. The fist-sized bombs attached to magnets or adhesives are hard to detect, easy for a furtive bomber to put in place and have become the weapon of choice for militants thwarted by tighter security in their efforts to plant bigger bombs.

Casualty rates from the sticky bombs are still low, but US and Iraqi troops have uncovered insurgent bomb-making factories packed with the devices and fear they will soon wreak more havoc. Officials are working hard to educate the public on how to spot the bombs. They say the insurgent's shift towards stealth, while alarming, shows that efforts to stop car bombs, larger IEDs, and suicide bombs are working.
(More Iraq stories.)

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