Afghan IEDs 'increase by 114%'

The British Ministry of Defence says Improvised Explosvie Devices, or IEDs, have increased by 114% in Afghanistan this year compared to the same period last year.

Since the beginning of 2009 IEDs, often in the form of roadside bombs, have accounted for the deaths of 91 International Security Force [Isaf] personnel, including 25 British soldiers, according to the monitoring website iCasualties.org.

IEDs were a highly successful tactic for insurgents in Iraq.

The devices had accounted for 40% of coalition deaths up to the end of 2007, and fighters developed increasingly sophisticated techniques such as remote detonation and sequenced attacks.

Chris Hunter served in the British army for 17 years.

He retired in 2007 to become an author and a consultant on IEDs.

He talked to World Update's Dan Damon and described how the devices worked.

Frist broadcast 14 August 2009