Afghan bombings expected to worsen

Foes' use of simple devices could grow with U.S. forces

The more promising effort, Pentagon officials said, is to prevent IEDs from being planted at all by penetrating IED cells and snatching their bomb-makers, organizers and financiers. That is the mission of the secretive Task Force Odin, which relies on manned and drone aircraft to intercept communications, watch suspicious buildings and track individuals over time

"You can find the guys higher up the food chain through a lot of hard work and patience," Army Lt. Col. James Cutting, the task force's chief, said in a rare interview.

"Staring eye" sensors on spy drones and blimps, providing near-continuous imagery of heavily used roads, can pinpoint even the most carefully camouflaged IED by determining subtle changes in the road surface. Police forensic advisers help analyze unexploded bombs to determine the bomb-makers' unique "fingerprints," and experts on gang behavior have been recruited to help identify IED cells.

The collected intelligence is analyzed at Bagram air base just north of Kabul, and is shared on global networks with analysts at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., Langley Air Force Base, Va., and the Army's Fort Gordon, Ga. Analysts compare insights from images and electronic intercepts in highly secure "chat rooms."

"The insurgent has to put in four IEDs to get one that causes an effect," said the senior counter-IED officer. There is no "silver bullet" against bombs, he added, noting that the best defense is well-trained and alert troops.

Still, the casualties mount.

"We'll never stop them" from attacking Americans with IEDs, he said. "It's too easy and yields too much effect. But we can definitely diminish it."