Some soldiers supposedly have a “sixth sense” when it comes to spotting bombs. According a NATO press release, that crew includes Ajab Han, an Afghan National Army sergeant
working with British troops. He’s apparently “found
177 IEDs during his three years in Helmand.”

“I can just see them,” he says. “There might be a tell-tale trace, or something just not quite right, or a piece of wire or wood showing, and that is when I know I have found another one. IEDs often come in
many parts so we have to find all the bits in the ground.”

Let’s hope, for his sake, that Ajab doesn’t ordinarily rely on the crawling-on-his-belly technique displayed in the picture, above.

And while Ajab’s track record is impressive, the fact that this sergeant has personally come across an average of a bomb a week for the past three years doesn’t exactly speak well for the security situation
in Helmand.

[Photo: ISAF]

Wired.com
By Noah Shachtman, April 30, 2010