The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have claimed many American lives. These lives might have been saved if funding for the making of the many types of weapons, particularly roadside bombs, had been stopped in its tracks.

According to reports, the country of Iran supplied different kinds of roadside bomb components. Among these were Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), Explosively Formed Penetrators (EFPs) and Improvised Rocket-Assisted Munitions (IRAMs).

The IED roadside bomb is a device that explodes through the use of a detonator. Over 60 percent of deaths throughout both the Iraq war and the Afghanistan war to the present day have been a direct consequence of the use of this type of terrorist weaponry.

It can be constructed using traditional military supplies such as an artillery shells but is viewed as anything but conventional. It is most often used in guerilla warfare.

The EFP is almost always deadly. The reason that it is almost universally lethal when used is that it has the capability of compromising heavy armor. They are strong enough that they can travel far—often in excess of a 100 yards—allowing them to be obscurely hidden from view, camouflaged as large rocks or discarded waste.

The IRAM is very similar to an IED, with the exception that it is rocket-fired and airborne. It usually utilizes larger metal canisters but can still be relatively targeted and set off from the side of a road, hitting and killing unsuspecting soldiers and civilians.

Trial Exposed Well-Engineered EFP

In December 2018, a federal trial that pitted victims of terrorist bombs in Iran against the Islamic Republic of Iran led to expert testimony on the evolution of EFPs used in Iraq. When the war first began, many of the devices were improvised because terrorists would take leftover stockpiles of abandoned munitions and attach triggerable devices to them. The crude bombs were often wired to explode after a coalition vehicle ran over a type of improvised pressure plate. Those devices were capable of causing extreme injuries and even death, but coalition forces became wise to the ways of these explosives and were able to work around them as they learned more about them.

At the trial, Army Capt. Wade Barker testified that not long after the invasion of Iraq, troops started to see the bombs and methods of detonation grow more sophisticated.

Eventually, EFP devices made use of 4-inch round copper plates that formed into the shape of a tear drop. When fired, these 140-degree copper pieces traveled at 26,000 feet per second and were able to puncture 4-inch holes through many layers of armor. These newly designed EFPs were virtually unstoppable, and were marked by a sophistication in engineering that an untrained person would not be capable of machining or detonating, according to military experts.

By piecing together the physical evidence and level of ingenuity, Capt. Barker said that the terrorists who built the ultra-dangerous EFPs were probably taught by Iranian or Hezbollah military trainers.

According to The Military Times, the lawsuit is seeking $10 billion lawsuit is seeking financial compensation from the Anti-Terrorism Act fund for victims of state-sponsored terrorist attacks.

Victims of Iraq & Afghanistan Roadside Bombs

For the families of those that have suffered the death of a loved one from roadside bomb during the Iraq war and Afghanistan conflict which is ongoing, there is no compensation great enough to take away the sting of that loss.

For those soldiers and even civilians that have had to endure pain of injuries up to and including loss of limbs and brain damage, there is still no monetary figure large enough.

Many, however, are gaining support and, in a small measure, comfort from the process of pursuing a lawsuit and holding accountable those responsible for funding terrorist activity. Without funding, most terrorist organizations wouldn’t have the ability to procure or make any kind of artillery, much less recruit and train people to carry out their mission.

When Iran’s role in producing weapons was identified, Congress established sanctions against the country to prevent them from obtaining the financial backing needed to continue their pursuit.

Nevertheless, Iran went behind and around these sanctions and found financial institutions willing to support their heinous behind-the-scenes work. Banks that have been identified include Commerzbank of Germany, BNP Paribas of France and HSBC of the United Kingdom.

If you believe that you or a loved one has been affected because of co-conspiratorial funding of terrorist activity, you may have the right to sue under U.S. law. Fill out our form to request a consultation for an Anti-Terrorism Act lawsuit.

If you or a loved one was injured or killed by an IED or EFP while fighting in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars, legal recourse is available. Get help now by filling out the form on this page for a FREE case evaluation.

The attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or anti-terrorist class action lawsuit is best for you. (In general, anti-terrorist lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.) After you fill out the form, the attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or class action lawsuit is best for you. Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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