Brigette Honaker  |  January 14, 2020

Category: Legal News

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Iran is believed to be behind IED attacks on US troops in Iraq.The killing of Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani evokes memories of the countless Iranian-sponsored IED attacks in earlier conflicts.

IEDs, or improvised explosive devices, can be used to destroy vehicles, maim and kill people or as a way to distract the enemy.

IEDs were used extensively in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. According to reports, IED attacks were responsible for some 63 percent of coalition deaths in Iraq and more than 66 percent of coalition deaths in Afghanistan.

EFPs, or explosively formed penetrators, are another type of explosive device commonly used in wars across the Arabian Peninsula. These weapons are a deadlier version of IEDs which can be deployed against armored vehicles.

EFPs reportedly killed at least 196 troops between 2005 and 2011, in addition to wounding nearly 900 more.

Iran is believed to have played a role in these deaths. Proxies sponsored by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an elite Iranian military force, were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of U.S. forces, a Pentagon spokesman told the Military Times.

“These casualties were the result of explosively formed penetrators (EFP), other improvised explosive devices (IED), improvised rocket-assisted munitions (IRAM), rockets, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades (RPG), small-arms, sniper, and other attacks in Iraq.”

Iran’s Role in IED Attacks

Dozens of American soldiers injured in IED attacks during the Iraq war, along with hundreds of family members of those killed by the devices during the conflict, have taken an unusual step to hold Iran’s rogue government accountable. The soldiers and their families “sued Iran’s government in an effort to prove that the attacks that took their limbs and loved ones were aided by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” The New York Times reports.

According to the plaintiffs, these attacks violate the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act. The law aims to hold terrorists accountable for attacks that harm Americans. The act states the following:

Any national of the United States injured in his or her person, property, or business by reason of an act of international terrorism, or his or her estate, survivors, or heirs, may sue therefor in any appropriate district court of the United States and shall recover threefold the damages he or she sustains and the cost of the suit, including attorney’s fees.

In 2019, a federal judge awarded billions of dollars in damages to victims who brought claims against Iran, but its not clear if those damages will ever be paid by the Iranian government.

Some plaintiffs have also taken action against banks who allegedly worked around sanctions on Iran to deliver funding to the weapons production scheme. Several of these banks have reportedly pleaded guilty to federal charges and agreed to settlements with the U.S. government. HSBC of the UK reportedly agreed to pay $1.25 billion, Credit Suisse agreed to pay $536 million, Commerzbank AG of Germany agreed to pay $1.45 billion, Standard Chartered Bank agreed to pay $340 million, and Barclays agreed to pay $298 million.

Although these settlements resolved claims brought by the U.S. government, plaintiffs argue that they too are owed compensation.

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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