In December 2024, and January 2025, two incidents involving extremely large directional charges with unique configurations were documented in northeastern Colombia.
On December 9, 2024, two large linear directional fragmentation charges were found and neutralized on the side of a road in Aguachica municipality, in César Department.
On January 6, 2025, a large, square, linear hollow directional charge found on the side of the Cúcuta – Santiago road, in Norte de Santander Department, was neutralized.
Both IEDs were attributed to the ELN.
In both incidents, the IEDs were remarkably large, and their square shape and linear structure, employed as roadside IEDs, is unique. Over the years, various directional IEDs produced by militant organizations in Colombia have been documented. These are usually small- or medium-sized directional fragmentation IEDs. Larger IEDs planted on roads are mostly underbelly IEDs, employed against vehicles, including protected and armored vehicles. The documentation of the square-shaped linear charges used as large roadside IEDs is a new IED configuration in Colombia.
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