The use of car bombs in guerrilla warfare is not new, but the Islamic State (IS) militants are deploying this weapon in unprecedented numbers.

According to Business Insider, ISIS has deployed a more traditional fighting force to the battlefield in an effort to capture cities in Iraq and Syria.

Instead of using car bombs as booby traps or placed along streets, ISIS now uses this weapon along with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in much the same way the US uses its air force: viewing them as a means of attacking ground forces and allowing infantry to expand their attacks to other targets.

"It's a very effective weapon, and we've worked hard to enhance our target detection capabilities to locate IED production sites and strike appropriately," said General Thomas Weidley, commander of U.S. Air Force in Syria and Iraq.

However, this tactic comes with an astonishingly disproportionate cost. While the Pentagon spends over $9 million a day suppressing the unrest, ISIS spends almost nothing on bomb production. Even more remarkably, the extremist group manufactures these bombs at an alarming rate, utilizing everything from fertilizers to military explosives.

Previously, al-Qaeda terrorists frequently used this tactic. From 2003 to 2011, hundreds of car bombs were used against targets within the Iraqi government to carry out al-Qaeda's terrorist plans.

The U.S. has supplied Iraq with anti-tank missiles to help eliminate the threat of car bombs.

“This is a tactical issue, but we’ve increased the shipment of anti-tank missiles to ensure Iraqi forces on the battlefield can fight with the weapons of choice for ISIS. Those are truckloads of bombs in very large quantities,” said Brett McGurk, Deputy Presidential Envoy of the Global Coalition Against ISIS.

However, the type of missiles supplied by the US are only suitable for destroying ISIS car bombs on the front lines and cannot be used in cities. Therefore, some experts even suggest that the only way to stop these car bombs is to completely ban traffic.

Meanwhile, this method of attack by IS had a very clear psychological effect on Iraqi soldiers. In Ramadi, as many as 30 car bombs were deployed, leaving pro-government Iraqi forces with no choice but to flee.

“They knew the driver was a suicide bomber,” said a soldier on guard duty in Khadimiya. “For me, having a car bomb heading toward me is a nightmare. I would have to leave immediately.” The soldier said he had witnessed two such attacks last year.

(According to VNN)