IEDs becoming less deadly in Afghanistan

(CBS News) KABUL - In Afghanistan, seven American troops were killed over the weekend, six of them in one bombing.

It's summer, the peak of the fighting season there. There was another attack in Afghanistan's second largest city, Kandahar.

The six American soldiers killed in one bombing were on patrol in an armored vehicle southwest of Kabul when they struck an enormous roadside bomb.

It's estimated the bomb contained roughly 200 pounds of homemade explosives. Coalition forces are still investigating this attack, but the overall number of fatalities from improvised explosive devices -- or IEDs -- in Afghanistan is actually going down.

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Those roadside bombs used to be the leading cause of deaths for troops in Afghanistan, but their effectiveness has been reduced because of advances in training, equipment and intelligence.

Two years ago, 368 soldiers were killed by IED.s. So far this year, 77 have been killed.

So while these deadly ambushes are still a major threat to soldiers here, the numbers are going down.

[aacyjemael]

Tell that to my son and his teammate who were brutally murdered on May 20th in Afghanistan by a suicide bomber with a vest packed full of explosives (ball bearings)...tell that to the more than 50 who have been murdered in Afghanistan by these suicide/IEDs since my son's death. The facts don't lie and the facts are that 70% of all casualties in the Afghanistan war have happened on Obama's watch. Our men are being blown up on a daily basis in Afghanistan due to the fact that they are to put the lives of their enemies above their own, do not offend or upset them. Don't believe the numbers check for yourself:

http://icasualties.org/OEF/ByMonth.aspx

http://icasualties.org/OEF/Fatalities.aspx

[ObamasGuppies]

Hey idiots, tell that to the people still losing sons and daughters. Leave it to the heartless Liberal media to make stupid comments.

[smittyc]

There is really no offensive from NATO this year. Most American troops are staying in their fortified camps as per agreement with Karzai. It has become a no contact war. Obama does not want anymore bad press so no fighting is allowed.

[dontprefer]

False.

[nancy_naive]

This statement is only true if the number of attacks is not also going down.

[xmissile]

There is a way to get that number down to zero if you catch my drift.

[payasyougo]

"were on parole in an armored vehicle "
They were on PATROL you nitwit.

[TheKritik]

It was still able to kill 6 americans so i'll assume,they are still deadly enough.Being in that country must be worth a lot for the u.s to sacrifice all these soldiers even after 11 years.