Editing Improvised explosive device (section)

=== Ireland and the United Kingdom ===
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2020}}[[File:Home-made explosives packed in oil drums being dealt with by EOD Operator. MOD 45159058.jpg|thumb|left|Oil-drum roadside IED removed from culvert in 1984]]
[[File:Wheelbarrow bomb disposal device being operated by a team from 321 EOD MOD 45159057.jpg|thumb|left|[[Wheelbarrow (robot)|Wheelbarrow]] counter-IED robot on streets of Northern Ireland in 1978]]
From 1912-1913, the [[Suffragettes]] utilised IEDs in the [[Suffragette bombing and arson campaign]].{{according to whom?|date=October 2024}}

Throughout [[the Troubles]], the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] made extensive use of IEDs in their [[Provisional Irish Republican Army campaign|1969–97 campaign]], much of which were made in the [[Republic of Ireland]].<ref name="BVGEF">{{citation|url=https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/republic-ireland-played-integral-role-supporting-ira-says-historian-988519|title=Republic of Ireland played integral role in supporting IRA, says historian|date=5 April 2019|publisher=[[News Letter]]}}</ref><ref name="NRG">{{cite news|title=Support in Republic during Troubles 'key for IRA', book claims|url=https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2019/04/06/news/headline-1591367/|author=John Manley|date=6 April 2019|publisher=[[The Irish News]]}}</ref> They used [[barrack buster]] mortars and remote-controlled IEDs. Members of the IRA developed and counter-developed devices and tactics. IRA bombs became highly sophisticated, featuring [[anti-handling device]]s such as a [[mercury switch|mercury tilt switch]] or [[microswitch]]es. These devices would [[detonate]] the bomb if it was moved in any way. Typically, the safety-arming device used was a clockwork [[Memopark timer]], which armed the bomb up to 60 minutes after it was placed<ref>Parry, Gareth; Pallister, David. ''Timer clue to Brighton bombing'', ''[[The Guardian]]''; 10 May 10, 1986</ref> by completing an electrical circuit supplying power to the anti-handling device. Depending on the particular design (e.g., [[boobytrap]]ped [[briefcase]] or [[car bomb]]) an independent electrical circuit supplied power to a conventional timer set for the intended time delay, e.g. 40 minutes. However, some electronic delays developed by IRA technicians could be set to accurately detonate a bomb weeks after it was hidden, which is what happened in the [[Brighton hotel bombing|Brighton hotel bomb attack]] of 1984. Initially, bombs were detonated either by timer or by simple command wire. Later, bombs could be detonated by radio control. Initially, simple servos from [[radio-controlled aircraft]] were used to close the electrical circuit and supply power to the detonator. After the British developed jammers, IRA technicians introduced devices that required a sequence of [[Selective calling|pulsed radio codes]] to arm and detonate them. These were harder to jam.

The IRA as well as [[Ulster loyalism|Ulster loyalist]] paramilitaries have also utilized less sophisticated devices, such as homemade grenades crudely thrown at the target.  These are sometimes called "blast bombs".<ref>Examples:<!-- Replace with actual definition, this is just usage-->{{ubl|[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/3739803.stm UVF 'behind blast bomb'], ''[[BBC News]]'', 23 May 2004.|{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/northernireland/4968359/Frank-OReilly-the-catholic-RUC-officer-killed-by-loyalists-in-1998.html|title = Frank O'Reilly, the catholic RUC officer killed by loyalists in 1998 |work=The Telegraph |date=11 March 2009|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319134441/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/northernireland/4968359/Frank-OReilly-the-catholic-RUC-officer-killed-by-loyalists-in-1998.html|archive-date=March 19, 2023}}|[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/2760481.stm Blast bomb defused at police station], ''[[BBC News]]'', 14 February 2003}}</ref>

Roadside bombs were extensively used by the IRA. Typically, a roadside bomb was placed in a drain or culvert along a rural road and detonated by remote control when British security forces vehicles were passing, as with the case of the 1979 [[Warrenpoint ambush]]. As a result of the use of these bombs, the British military stopped transport by road in areas such as South Armagh, and used [[helicopter]] transport instead to avoid the danger.{{according to whom?|date=October 2024}}

Most IEDs used commercial or homemade explosives made in the Republic of Ireland, with ingredients such as [[gelignite]] and [[ANFO]] either stolen in construction sites or provided for by supporters in the South,<ref>{{cite book|author=Gearóid Ó Faoleán|title=A Broad Church: The Provisional IRA in the Republic of Ireland, 1969–1980|date=April 23, 2019|page=54|publisher=Merrion Press|isbn=978-1-7853-7245-2}}</ref><ref name="BVGEF"/><ref name="NRG"/> although the use of [[Semtex]]-H smuggled in from [[Libya]] in the 1980s was also common from the mid-1980s onward. [[Bomb Disposal]] teams from [[321 EOD]] manned by [[Ammunition Technicians]] were deployed in those areas to deal with the IED threat. The IRA also used secondary devices to catch British reinforcements sent in after an initial blast as occurred in the [[Warrenpoint Ambush]]. Between 1970 and 2005, the IRA detonated 19,000 IEDs in the Northern Ireland and Britain, an average of one every 17 hours for three and a half decades, arguably making it "the biggest terrorist bombing campaign in history".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://digital.ipcprintservices.com/display_article.php?id=177490|title=IRA TECHNOLOGY|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506161615/http://digital.ipcprintservices.com/display_article.php?id=177490|archive-date=May 6, 2016}}</ref> 

In the early 1970s, at the height of the IRA campaign, the [[British Army]] unit tasked with rendering safe IEDs, 321 EOD, sustained significant casualties while engaged in bomb disposal operations. This mortality rate was far higher than other high risk occupations such as deep sea diving, and a careful review was made of how men were selected for [[Explosive Ordnance Disposal|EOD]] operations. The review recommended bringing in [[psychometric]] testing of soldiers to ensure those chosen had the correct mental preparation for high risk bomb disposal duties.{{according to whom?|date=October 2024}}

The IRA came up with ever more sophisticated designs and deployments of IEDs. [[Booby Trap]] or Victim Operated IEDs (VOIEDs), became commonplace. The IRA engaged in an ongoing battle to gain the upper hand in electronic warfare with remote controlled devices. The rapid changes in development led 321 EOD to employ specialists from [[Defence Evaluation and Research Agency|DERA]] (now [[Dstl]], an agency of the MOD), the [[Royal Signals]], and [[Intelligence Corps (United Kingdom)|Military Intelligence]]. This approach by the British army to fighting the IRA in Northern Ireland led to the development and use of most of the modern weapons, equipment and techniques now used by EOD Operators throughout the rest of the world today.{{according to whom?|date=October 2024}}

The [[bomb disposal]] operations were led by [[Ammunition Technician]]s and [[Ammunition Technical Officer]]s from 321 EOD, and were trained at the [[Felix Centre]] at the [[Army School of Ammunition]].{{according to whom?|date=October 2024}}