A group of Infantry Marines stand in a cordon while another separate group of EOD technicians conduct a controlled detonation to remove an improvised explosive device in the city of Haditha.

From around late 2003 until 2008ish, improvised explosive devices were the greatest threat to American troops on the ground in Iraq. A large part of Operation Iraqi Freedom was spent dealing with and detonating these improvised devices in order to allow American and Iraqi forces the the freedom of movement they needed to safely patrol the streets and root out AQI fighters in their area of operations.

This video is a great reminder of the fundamental work EOD teams did throughout Operations Iraqi Freedom. Not only did the removal of this singular device in Haditha probably save the lives of American Marines that were patrolling the area on a day to day basis, it probably also saved an innocent Iraqi civilian who could have inadvertently detonated the device during their normal routine.

Obviously, since this video was recorded, the tactics, techniques, and procedures of terrorist organizations for improvised explosives has evolved a lot. No longer are devices reactive things that are buried into the ground. Today, IEDs come in thousands of different shapes and sizes. Those shapes and sizes also range from being a reactive device like the one featured in this video, which can easily be defeated by an EOD team, all the way to active devices that are flown by commercially purchased or built drones that can drop the device like a conventional weapon system.

It will be interested to see how the IED continues to develop and advance right alongside the rest of modern warfare in the 21st century. Also, we love documenting stuff like this. It helps us keep track of how the enemy's weapons evolve, and we bet that other government agencies also like to keep an eye on this stuff as well. If you have similar footage to this, please let us know down in the comments section and we'll reach out to make sure you have a way to contact us.