Family members who lost their loved ones in IED attacks in Afghanistan have chosen to take legal action against banks. These banks are accused of funding terrorism that ultimately led to the deaths of U.S. military personnel.

A Brooklyn federal court has now received three different lawsuits alleging that terrorism was funded by the banks that ultimately killed the family members’ loved ones. The lawsuits filed over fatal IED attacks in Afghanistan allege that Lebanon’s Blom Bank, the Bank of Palestine and the Palestine Investment Bank had accounts for numerous branches of terrorist organizations.

Those family members who lost their loved ones to IED attacks in Afghanistan argue that the funds placed inside these bank accounts were used to murder innocent people. More than 100 plaintiffs are named in these IED attacks lawsuits. The lawsuits are seeking unspecified damages, but all accuse the banks of aiding and abetting a terrorist organization.

As pointed out by the Centers for Disease Control, the most common post-explosion injuries for survivors include blunt or penetrating trauma. The most common fatal injury among initial survivors in IED attacks or explosions is blast lungs.

The journal BMJ Open recently highlighted a study indicating the severity of IED victim injuries. The study found that IED victims were more likely than those injured similarly by land mines to have at least one amputation. IED victims had a 70 percent chance of having one limb amputated, whereas, land mine blast victim had a 10.5 percent rate of injury.

Pelvic fractures were also more common among IED victims who had multiple amputations and IED victims who had similar patterns of injuries were four times as likely to die than those who were similarly injured with land mines.

Families of IED Victims

The family members who have lost their loved ones due to the explosion of IED attacks in Afghanistan have chosen to take legal action because they believe that the banks should be held accountable for enabling the transfer and use of funds to support terrorist organizations.

These kinds of legal actions, while relatively recent, are not without precedent. In the years during the time the War on Terror was drawing to a close, U.S. citizens began to recognize the far-reaching impacts of terrorism. Many military families lost loved ones or had those family members come home forever changed physically or emotionally by the conflict.

The loss of a loved one has prompted anti-terrorism litigation. Plaintiffs may be able to sue when it can be argued that a bank provided financial services to a terrorist organization. In 2014, for example, a New York jury found Arab Bank liable for terrorist attacks conducted by Hamas, as it allegedly played a key role in purposefully financing the terrorist organization.

The family members who choose to pursue legal action against the banks allege that these banks played a willing role in financing terrorism that claimed lives, in violation of the Anti-Terrorism Act. If you lost someone due to an IED attack that might have been enabled by bank involvement, you could be able to take legal action.

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.

Learn More