57 states are now confirmed to be affected by landmines and 2016 saw 19,246 deaths and injuries as a result of IEDs globally, of which 74% were reported to be civilians. 

This report analyses the extent of landmine contamination for a number of nations where data is available, and also looks at the number of deaths and injury’s related to IEDs. With exclusive insights from Colonel (ret.) Rob Hyde Bales, Consulting Editor, Counter-IED Report, this piece also includes three case studies for countries where landmines are a prevalent issue: Afghanistan, Colombia and Ukraine. 

Defence iQ spoke with Major Michael 'Ginge' Brown, discussing the importance of Search in EoD, transitioning from the military to civilian life, and the differences between Search and EoD techniques in law enforcement and the armed forces.

Other discussion points included:

- lessons learned from the Manchester Arena bombing 

- cultural differences between the UK and USA in EoD and Search 

- the need and appetite for Search training

The number of casualties and injuries resulting from IEDs is currently decreasing in countries under the U.S Central Command's authority, but steadily increasing in Afghanistan. Cheap, unpredictable, and extremely lethal, IEDs quickly became the weapon of choice for insurgents during the Afghan war.

Earlier this year, we put together this report on the three lessons we can learn from the ongoing IED threat in Afghanistan.