BALLOON-BORNE IEDs
PALESTINIAN BALLOON-BORNE IED PROGRESSION By Chief Superintendent (ret.) Michael Cardash, Terrogence Senior CIED Analyst / Author of Mobius reports
D
uring August 2020, terrorist activity resumed along the Gaza border targeting towns in the south of Israel. 25 rockets were fired and dozens of balloon-borne IIDs and IEDs were released toward Israel. The balloon-borne IIDs comprise small incendiary charges, most fitted with some kind of delay mechanisms, some recycled tear gas and stun grenades, filled with incendiary materials. The recent balloon-borne IEDs released toward Israel were notable for their fragmentation components, some of which were recycled, others improvised, including IEDs dropped from the air that explode upon impact with the ground, and others that initiated at the conclusion of the delay element, either on the ground, or while still airborne, over populated areas. On the evening of August 25, 2020, two explosions occurred as a result of balloon-borne IED initiations in the city of Netivot, in southern Israel. The first initiated in an outdoor basketball court near where some children were playing. The point of explosion of a small IED was documented where the IED initiated. The other IED initiated a few minutes later at a ceramics factory in the city. The IED initiation was recorded on CCTV, in which a small combustion (probably from the delay fuse) can be seen, followed by an explosion, from which a small crater was formed.
Remains of an IID fitted with an electrical delay mechanism, Kiryat Gat, August 21, 2020. counteriedreport.com
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