Suicide bombing

A suicide bombing is an attack using a bomb in which the individual(s) carrying the explosive materials composing the bomb intend(s) and expect(s) to die upon detonation (see suicide).

Related Topics:
Bomb - Suicide

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Suicide bombing is a kind of tactic planned and organized by extremely committed military or paramilitary groups. This tactic became widely known during the Second World War in the Pacific as U.S. ships were attacked by Japanese kamikaze pilots who caused maximum damage by flying their explosive-laden aircraft into military targets. Since the 1980s, the low cost and high lethality of the tactic have made it a favorite with guerrilla, insurgent, and especially terrorist groups, notably in the Middle East and Sri Lanka. The Tamil Tigers were, as of 2000, "unequivocally the most effective and brutal terrorist organization ever to utilize suicide terrorism" (according to Yoram Schweitzer of the Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Israel: http://www.ict.org.il/articles/articledet.cfm?articleid=112); since the Tigers signed a cease-fire in 2001, suicide bombings by Islamist terrorists, mostly in the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Iraqi insurgency, have been the most frequent and cumulatively destructive. The September 11, 2001 attacks used hijacked airplanes to become the largest and most destructive individual suicide bombings.

Related Topics:
Second World War - Japan - Kamikaze - Guerrilla - Insurgent - Terrorist - Middle East - Sri Lanka - Tamil Tigers - 2001 - Islamist terrorists - Al-Aqsa Intifada - Iraqi insurgency - September 11, 2001 attacks

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