Nail bomb

A nail bomb is an anti-personnel improvised explosive device containing nails to increase its effectiveness at harming victims. The nails act as shrapnel, leading almost certainly to more injury in inhabited areas than the explosives alone would. A nail bomb is also a type of flechette weapon. Such weapons use bits of shrapnel (steel balls, nail heads, screws, needles, broken razors, darts and other small metal objects) to create a larger radius of destruction.

Nail bombs are often used by terrorists, including suicide bombers, since they cause larger numbers of casualties when detonated in crowded places. Nail bombs can be detected by electromagnetic sensors and standard metal detectors.

Although nail bombs are primarily used by violent non-state actors, these improvised explosive devices are also included in the arsenals of some state special forces. For example, instructions on the production of such devices remained in manuals intended for the United States Army Special Forces at least until the 1960s.