SANGERAY, Kandahar – The warning sign was there. A ten-foot long red rope discretely draped along a mud wall in the back alley of the rural Afghan town of Sangeray in the violent Kandahar Province.

Instinctively, Lt. Corry Donohoo, of the 1-502 101^st Airborne Division, knew there was an IED near by – and feared it could be a big one.

“That is definitely the kind of stuff you are looking for,” the West Virginia native explained while pointing to the red ribbon. “The Taliban set the rope there as a marker for their fighters.”

After setting a small amount of C4 explosives to check for an IED, Lt. Donohoo decided to lead his soldiers to the West of the ribbon.

No IED this time.

Two days later though, another squad of soldiers from the 1-502 101^st Airborne Division approached the red rope area from the East.

This time they found what Lt. Donohoo feared.

“There are IEDs all over the place,” said Lt. Philip Ficken.

But this was no ordinary IED. It was a “squad killer.”

A “squad killer” IED, as U.S. troop dubbed them, is several IEDs linked together – and set to explode in the middle of a U.S. patrol. Injuring not just one or two US troops but many more.

Increasingly, as U.S. troops push deeper into Taliban controlled areas, insurgents are laying long daisy-chained IEDs in hopes of knocking out an entire patrol.

U.S. commanders say this is a clear sign of desperation. Regardless, they are dangerous and deadly.

But as coalition troops push Taliban fighters out of their strongholds, locals Afghans are beginning to help U.S. troops locate the IEDs.

“We are finding them all the time,” said Lt. Ficken. “The good part about it is we are getting a lot of local nationals to come out with us and show us the IEDs. And that really takes a lot of the danger out of going and finding them.”

After disarming, the IED and collecting all of the bomb material, U.S. soldiers placed C4 explosives on the pile and destroyed the cache.

Despite the relief of finding this IED, the joy is short lived. The walk back to the U.S. base is no less dangerous. In the distance at the edge of the graveyard on the outskirts of the town the soldiers notice, two young men watching and observing.

Lt. Ficken and his men know there are many more IEDs out there – and this is just one of many close calls they will have.