Flight 253 and Emerging Threats

Numerous recent terrorist, criminal attacks and mass violence incidents including the attack on Flight 253 and the suicide bomber attack in Afghanistan on U.S. Intelligence personnel have seen the growing use of Improvised Explosives Devices (IED) and Homemade Explosives (HME) so emergency management planners must be aware of this current and emerging hazard and the growing use of secondary devices and booby traps.

An explosives attack, even a small one, has the potential to overwhelm first responders due to the large number of victims, fatalities, fires and property destruction. It is very important that responders can plan for and safely respond to these types of incidents.

Preparation and planning is the key to a mitigating an IED, bombing, bomb threat or suspicious item incident and that includes having a clear idea of your actions before the incident occurs. The first step in your preparation is providing proper training to all response personnel. This should at least include an awareness of the hazards associated with IEDs/HME and the proper steps for the first responder to take.

If there is a local bomb squad or hazardous devices unit (HDU) in your area, ask for its assistance with your training and planning. Most bomb technicians will be glad to provide your agency with training on their procedures and equipment, since they will require your support during an actual incident.

Another excellent training resource for all first responders is the Incident Response to Terrorist Bombings (IRTB) courses in Soccoro, NM, funded through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This course gives first responders information regarding planning for and responding to IED or terrorist events. The student will be able to witness live explosive events ranging from a small pipe bomb to a large car bomb. The course also allows the student to return to their respective agency and provide awareness-level training. For additional information, see www.emrtc.nmt.edu/training/

An additional planning resource is the Office for Bombing Prevention (OBP) which leads the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) diverse efforts to deter, detect, prevent, protect against, and respond to terrorist improvised explosive device (IED) threats. OBP works to ensure that current activities function together efficiently to meet evolving bombing threats and that new capabilities to improve national preparedness for IED’s are developed at all levels of government, among the public, and within the private sector.


OBP focuses on three core missions: Coordination of national efforts, Analysis of counter-IED requirements and capabilities, and Promotion of information sharing and IED awareness and vigilance. At the local level, the Office for Bombing Prevention works with emergency services and security partners in major cities to provide Multi-Jurisdiction IED Security Workshops (MJIEDWS). These plans provide a consistent, repeatable IED security planning model for IED threats nationwide that integrate the capabilities of multiple emergency services providers in areas with many local jurisdictions. For additional information see http://www.dhs.gov/ or contact OBP@dhs.gov