This article is about suicide attacks for political and/or military reasons.

For criminal, personal, and/or non-political killings ending in suicide, see Mass murder or List of events named massacres. This article deals with mass killings that are not considered Genocide. This is a list of events named "massacre". The term suggests Mass murder and its usage may be controversial

Aftermath of a suicide attack on the USS Bunker Hill in May 1945

Aftermath of a suicide attack on the USS Cole in December 2000

A suicide attack is an attack upon a military or civilian target, in which an attacker intends to kill others, knowing that he or she will either certainly or most likely die in the process (see suicide). ( is a word of Japanese origin which in English usually refers to the Suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Construction The Bunker Hill was launched on 7 December 1942 at the Bethlehem Steel Company, Quincy Massachusetts, sponsored The USS Cole bombing was a Suicide bombing attack against the U History See also USS Cole bombing On 12 October 2000 while at anchor in Aden the Cole was attacked by Al-Qaeda suicide bombers who sailed The means of attack have included vehicles filled with explosives, passenger planes carrying large amounts of fuel, and individuals wearing vests filled with explosives. Synonyms include suicide-homicide bombing, martyrdom operations, predatory martyrdom. Strictly speaking, an attack may not be considered a suicide attack if the attacker is not killed (although they might hope and plan to be), or if there is some question as to whether their intention is to be killed (even if the attack is certain to kill them).

Although use of suicide attacks has occurred throughout history — particularly with the Japanese kamikaze pilots of World War II — its main notoriety as a specific kind of attack began in the 1980s and involved explosives deliberately carried to the target either on the person or in a civilian vehicle and delivered by surprise. ( is a word of Japanese origin which in English usually refers to the Suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Following the success of a 1983 truck bombing of two barracks buildings in Beirut that killed 300 and helped drive American and French Multinational Force troops from Lebanon, the tactic spread to insurgent groups like the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka, and Islamist groups such as Hamas. The Beirut barracks bombing was a major incident on October 23, 1983, during the Lebanese Civil War. The Multinational Force in Lebanon (also MNF) was an international Peacekeeping force created in 1982 and sent to Lebanon to oversee the withdrawal of "LTTE" redirects here For the Led Zeppelin bootleg see Listen to This Eddie. The Sri Lankan Civil War is an Ongoing conflict on the Island -nation of Sri Lanka. Islamism ( Islam + ism; Arabic: al-'islāmiyya) a set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only Ḥamas (ar حركة حماس acronym ar حركة المقاومة

During this time the number of suicide attacks has grown rapidly, from an average of less than five a year in the 1980s to 180/year in the first half of the 00s,^[1] and from 81 suicide attacks in 2001 to 460 in 2005. ^[2] Particularly hard-hit by attacks have been military and civilian targets in Sri Lanka, Israeli targets in Israel since April 1993, and Iraqis since the US-led invasion of that country in 2003. Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia

Observers believe suicide attacks have become popular because of their lethal effectiveness, but attackers motivation is disputed. One scholar, Robert Pape, attributes over 90% of attacks prior to the Iraq Civil War to a goal of withdrawal of an occupying forces;^[3] while another, Scott Atran, argues that since 2004 the overwhelming majority of bombers have been motivated by the ideology of Islamist martyrdom, and that these attacks have been much more numerous. Robert Anthony Pape Jr (born 1960) is an American political scientist known for his work on international security affairs especially Strategic air power Scott Atran (born 1952 is an American Anthropologist. Education and early career Atran was born in New York City in 1952 and received his PhD in Anthropology See also Martyrdom in Islam Istishhad (استشهاد means the seeking of or the act of Martyrdom, martyrdom being defined as a military or insurgent attack In just two years - 2004-2005 - there have been more suicide attacks, "roughly 600, than in Pape's entire sample. "^[4]

Frequency and verification of suicide attacks

Determining the exact number of suicide bomber attacks is a nearly impossible task. Attacks are so frequent that neither the global media, nor native police forces forensically and exhaustively investigate each attack. Even if reporters were to follow up, most incidents that are attributed to suicide bombers are unverifiable (as the alleged bomber will have destroyed himself in the blast and any remains will be over-mixed with other human remains). In most reports, troops or police of the targeted state are the sole source for the allegation of a suicide bomber attack, and eyewitness accounts are, understandably, unreliable^[5]. Further muddying the waters are reports that have surfaced of undercover intelligence operatives arrested^[6] with explosives and remote control detonators as part of false flag operations[2]. This raises the possibility that at least some of these attacks are remotely detonated bombs and not suicide attacks.

Tactical advantages

A major reason for the popularity of suicide attacks despite the sacrifice involved for its perpetrators is its tactical advantages over other types of terrorism. The ability to conceal weapons, make last-minute adjustments, increased ability to infiltrate heavily guarded targets, lack of need for remote or delayed detonation, escape plans or rescue teams. Robert Pape observes: "Suicide attacks are an especially convincing way to signal the likelihood of more pain to come, because if you are willing to kill yourself you are also willing to endure brutal retaliation. ". . . The element of suicide itself helps increase the credibility of future attacks because it suggests that attackers cannot be deterred. "^[7]

It must also be realized that in the military calculus of kill ratios, when suicide bombing missions are the only way to kill more of the enemy's forces than the enemy will kill of your forces, then they are highly likely to be used. In Iraq, the kill ratio of coalition forces versus all others is around 100:1, although it has dropped since the early days of the war. That is a dramatically higher ratio than was experienced between armies with muskets fighting peoples armed with bows and arrows and spears. It is unprecedented historically. Military calculation for the insurgent forces is the primary driving force behind the bombing tactics in Iraq. In other engagements where the enemy was not invulnerable, the same forces have not use suicide bombing attacks, but instead used classical military methods.

Types and tactics

The attacks can be either a military tactic, a political one, or a mixture of the two. It may qualify as terrorism when the intention is to kill, maim or terrorise a predominantly civilian target population, or fall within the definition of an act of war when it is committed against a military target under war conditions. Terrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion Suicide attacks often target poorly-guarded, non-military facilities and personnel.

Examples of different suicide attacks include:

• Suicide attack on foot: explosive belt, satchel charge
• Attempted suicide attack with a plane as target: Richard Reid on American Airlines Flight 63
• Suicide car bomb: 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, Sri Lankan Central Bank bombing, numerous incidents in Iraq since 2003
• Suicide attack by a boat with explosives: USS Cole bombing, attacks in Sri Lanka by the LTTE Sea Tigers. An explosive belt (also called suicide belt, Bomberpilot Jacket, suicide vest or shaheed belt) is A satchel charge is a powerful man-portable explosive device used by Infantry and Airborne forces. Background A British citizen born in Bromley, South London and educated at Thomas Tallis School in Kidbrooke, London The 2001 Shoe bomb plot was a failed bombing attempt that occurred on American Airlines Flight 63 on 22 December 2001. A car bomb is an explosive device placed in a car or other Vehicle and then detonated. The Beirut barracks bombing was a major incident on October 23, 1983, during the Lebanese Civil War. The Central Bank bombing was one of the deadliest terrorist attacks carried out by the LTTE during the Separatist civil war in Sri Lanka between The USS Cole bombing was a Suicide bombing attack against the U The Sea Tigers is the naval force of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, founded in 1984
• Suicide attack by a submarine with explosives (human-steered torpedo): Kaiten, used by Japan in World War II
• Suicide attack by a plane with explosives: kamikaze
• Suicide attack by donkey: Donkey bombs were a speciality of the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) in Peru. The modern torpedo (historically called an automotive automobile locomotive or fish torpedo is a self-propelled explosive Projectile weapon launched above or below This article is about the suicide torpedo For other meanings see Kaiten (disambiguation. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including ( is a word of Japanese origin which in English usually refers to the Suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against [3]
• Suicide attack by a woman (Thenmuli Rajaratnam) wearing a belt with explosives: Assassination of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
• Suicide attack by a bicycle with explosives: Assassination of Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
• Suicide attack by a hijacked plane with fuel: September 11, 2001 attacks, possibly Air France Flight 8969 and attempted by Samuel Byck
• Suicide attack by diverting a bus to an abyss: Tel Aviv Jerusalem bus 405 massacre
• Suicide attack with guns: Muslim Kashmiri insurgents on the Indian Parliament in December 2001 killing 15 people. Thenmuli Rajaratnam (died 21 May 1991) was the Rajiv Gandhi राजीव गांधी (raːdʒiːv gaːnd̪ʰiː born in Bombay, (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991 the elder son of Indira and Feroze "LTTE" redirects here For the Led Zeppelin bootleg see Listen to This Eddie. Ranasinghe Premadasa ( June 23, 1924 - May 1, 1993) was the 3rd President of Sri Lanka from January 2, 1989 "LTTE" redirects here For the Led Zeppelin bootleg see Listen to This Eddie. Air France Flight 8969 was an Air France flight that was hijacked on December 24, 1994 at Algiers Samuel Joseph Byck ( January 30, 1930 &ndash February 22, 1974) was a former tire salesman who attempted to hijack a plane flying The Tel Aviv-Jerusalem bus 405 attack occurred on July 6, 1989.

In some cases a nuclear attack on a nuclear power may be considered a suicide attack in the wider sense, with the attacking country being sure or almost sure of suffering many fatalities in a retaliation. This is called mutually assured destruction. Mutual assured destruction ( MAD; sometimes written as mutually assured destruction) is a Doctrine of military Strategy in which a full-scale

See also: Suicide weapon

Profile and motivation of attackers

Pathology as cause

One initial reaction to contemporary suicide bombing was to assume that the bombers were motivated by despair, and likely to come from a poor, neglected segment of society. A suicide weapon is a Weapon that is specially designed for a Suicide attack. Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life including food clothing shelter and safe Drinking water, and A society is a Population of Humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive Culture and Institutions This has been expressed by president George W. Bush and the Dalai Lama among others. George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso (born Lhamo Döndrub ( 6 July 1935 in Qinghai) He is the head of the Tibetan government-in-exile

The results of at least one study are consistent with despair being a cause of the attacks. A 2007 study in Afghanistan, one country with a growing number of suicide bombings, found "80%" of the suicide attackers had some kind of physical or mental disability. Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, A study of the remains of 110 suicide bombers for the first part of 2007 by Afghan pathologist Dr. Yusef Yadgari, found 80% were missing limbs, suffered from cancer, leprosy, or some other ailments. Also in contrast to earlier findings of suicide bombers, the Afghan bombers were "not celebrated like their counterparts in other Arab nations. Afghan bombers are not featured on posters or in videos as martyrs. "^[8]

Many subsequent studies of suicide attackers' backgrounds have not shown such a correlation. In Probability theory and Statistics, correlation, (often measured as a correlation coefficient) indicates the strength and direction of a linear Forensic psychiatrist Marc Sageman found a lack of antisocial behavior, mental illness, early social trauma or behavioral disorders such as rage, paranoia, narcissism among the 400 members of the Al Qaeda terror network he studied. Al-Qaeda, alternatively spelled al-Qaida, al-Qa`ida or al-Qa`idah, ( Arabic:; ar-Latn ''al-qāʿidah'' Translation: The ^[9]

Anthropologist Scott Atran found in a 2003 study that this is not a justifiable conclusion. Anthropology (/ˌænθɹəˈpɒlədʒi/ from Greek grc ἄνθρωπος anthrōpos, "human" -λογία -logia) is the study of Scott Atran (born 1952 is an American Anthropologist. Education and early career Atran was born in New York City in 1952 and received his PhD in Anthropology ^[10] A recently published paper by Harvard University Professor of Public Policy Alberto Abadie "cast[s] doubt on the widely held belief that terrorism stems from poverty, finding instead that terrorist violence is related to a nation's level of political freedom. Alberto Abadie is a Professor of Public Policy at the John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, born in the Basque Country, Spain "^[11] More specifically this is due to the transition of countries towards democratic freedoms. "Intermediate levels of political freedom are often experienced during times of political transitions, when governments are weak, political instability is elevated, so conditions are favorable for the appearance of terrorism". ^[12][11]

Use of suicide terror against civilian targets has differing effects on the attackers' goals (see reaction below). Some economists suggest that this tactic goes beyond symbolism and is actually a response to commodified, controlled, or devalued lives, as the suicide attackers apparently consider family prestige and financial compensation from the community as compensation for their own lives. This is an alphabetical list of notable Economists, that is experts in the social science of Economics. The value of life (or price of life) is an Economic or Moral value assigned to Life in general or to specific living organisms Whether such motivation is significant as compared to political or religious feeling remains unclear.

Idealism as motivation

The doctrine of asymmetric warfare views suicide attacks as a result of an imbalance of power, in which groups with little significant power resort to suicide bombing as a convenient tactic (see advantages noted above) to demoralize the targeted civilians or government leadership of their enemies. Military doctrine is the concise expression of how military forces contribute to campaigns major operations Battles and engagements It is a guide Asymmetric warfare originally referred to War between two or more belligerents whose relative military power differs significantly Suicide bombing may also take place as a perceived response to actions or policies of a group with greater power. Groups which have significant power have no need to resort to suicide bombing to achieve their aims; consequently, suicide bombing is overwhelmingly used by guerrillas, and other irregular fighting forces. Irregular military refers to any non-standard military Being defined by exclusion there is a lot of variance in what comes under the term Among many such groups, there are religious overtones to martyrdom: attackers and their supporters may believe that their sacrifice will be rewarded in an afterlife. AfterLife is a film drama set in Scotland directed by Alison Peebles made in 2003 about an ambitious Scottish journalist forced to choose between Suicide attackers often believe that their actions are in accordance with moral or social standards because they are aimed at fighting forces and conditions that they perceive as unjust.

According to Robert Pape, director of the Chicago Project on suicide terrorism and expert on suicide bombers, 95% of suicide attacks in recent times have the same specific strategic goal: to cause an occupying state to withdraw forces from a disputed territory. Pape found the targeted countries were ones where the government was democratic and public opinion played a role in determining policy. Other characteristics Pape found were a difference in religion between the attackers^[13] and the occupiers and grassroots support for the attacks. ^[14] Attackers were disproportionately from the educated middle classes. ^[15] Characteristics which Pape thought to be correlated to suicide bombing and bombers included: Islam, especially the influence of Salafi Islam;^[16] brutality and cruelty of the occupiers;^[17] competition among militant groups; and poverty, immaturity, poor education, past history of suicide attempts, or social maladjustment of the attackers. ^[18]

Other researchers have argued that Pape's analysis of the data is fundamentally flawed, however, particularly his contention that democracies are the main targets of such attacks. ^[19] Scott Atran found that non-Islamic groups have carried out very few bombings since 2003, while bombing by Muslim or Islamist groups associated with a "global ideology" of "martyrdom" has skyrocketed. Scott Atran (born 1952 is an American Anthropologist. Education and early career Atran was born in New York City in 1952 and received his PhD in Anthropology In one year, in one Muslim country alone - 2004 in Iraq - there were 400 suicide attacks and 2000 casualties. ^[20] Still others argue that perceived religious rewards in the hereafter are instrumental in encouraging Muslims to commit suicide attacks. ^[21][22]

Some aspects of suicide bombing vary. Suicide operatives are overwhelmingly male in most groups, but among the Chechen rebels and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) women form a majority of the attackers. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan or PKK, also called KADEK, Kongra-Gel, and KGK It is listed as a terrorist ^[23]. So too some groups use teams all or most of the time (Al-Qaeda and Chechen), and others infrequently or never (Palestinians, Lebanese, and PKK). The Kurdistan Workers' Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan or PKK, also called KADEK, Kongra-Gel, and KGK It is listed as a terrorist The ritualistic communion of the extremist groups to which they belong ("lone wolf" suicide bombers are rare), in addition to their strongly-held beliefs, helps motivate their decision to commit suicide. Extremism is a term used to describe the actions or ideologies of individuals or groups outside the perceived political center of a society or otherwise claimed to violate

In his book, Dead for Good,^[24] Hugh Barlow describes recent suicide attack campaigns as a new development in the long history of martyrdom, that he dubs predatory martyrdom. Among the famous who have taken their own lives are Boudicca, Brutus, Mark Antony, Cleopatra VII of Egypt, Judas Iscariot, Hannibal See also List of famous deaths by accidental drug overdose, Lists of people by cause of death, The following are lists of notable people who intentionally terminated The following is a List of suicide rates by country according to data from the World Health Organization in which a country's rank is determined by its total rate of Suicides Suicide intervention or Suicide crisis intervention is direct effort to stop or prevent persons attempting or contemplating suicide from killing themselves Various human cultures may have views on suicide not directly or solely linked to Religious views of suicide. Suicide has historically been treated as a criminal matter in many parts of the world In Ethics and other branches of Philosophy, Suicide poses a difficult question answered differently by philosophers from different times and traditions There are a variety of religious views of Suicide. Judaism Judaism has traditionally in light of its great emphasis on the sanctity of Life For the 1987 film see Right to Die (film The term " right to die " refers to various issues related to the decision of whether an A suicide crisis, suicidal crisis, or potential suicide, is a situation in which a person is attempting to kill him or herself or is seriously contemplating Suicide intervention or Suicide crisis intervention is direct effort to stop or prevent persons attempting or contemplating suicide from killing themselves Suicide prevention is an umbrella term for the collective efforts of mental health practitioners and related professionals to reduce the incidence of Suicide through proactive A crisis hotline is a phone number people can call to get immediate over-the-phone emergency Counseling, usually by trained Volunteers Such hotlines Suicide watch is an intensive monitoring process used to ensure that an individual does not commit Suicide. A suicide method is any means by which a person purposely kills himself or herself A copycat suicide is defined as a duplication or Copycat of another Suicide that the person attempting suicide knows about either from local knowledge or due to accounts A cult suicide is a term used to describe the mass Suicide by the members of groups that have been considered as Cults In some cases all or nearly all members have Euthanasia (literally "good death" in Ancient Greek) refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless manner A familicide is a type of Murder or Murder-suicide in which at least one spouse and one or more children are killed Forced suicide is a method of Execution where the victim is given the choice of committing Suicide or facing an alternative they perceive as worse such as suffering An Internet suicide pact (cybersuicide pact is a Suicide pact made between individuals who meet on the Internet. Mass suicide occurs when a number of people kill themselves together and/or for the same reason A murder-suicide is an act in which an individual kills one or more other persons immediately before or at the same time as killing him or herself A suicide pact describes the Suicides of two or more individuals in an agreed-upon plan Suicide by cop is a suicide method in which a person deliberately acts in a threatening way with the goal of provoking a lethal response from a law enforcement officer such as being Teenage suicide is the act of self-killing by a Teenager. Although the Suicide rate among youth significantly decreased in the mid-1990s suicide deaths in the Self-injury ( SI) or self-harm ( SH) is deliberate Injury inflicted by a person upon their own body without suicidal intent Suicidal ideation is a common medical term for thoughts about Suicide, which may be as detailed as a formulated plan without the suicidal act itself A suicide note is a message left by someone who later attempts or commits Suicide. Some individuals who now act alone are inspired by emails, radical books, the internet, various new electronic media, and a general public tolerance of extreme teachers and leaders with terrorist agendas. Terrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion

Religious motivation

Main article: Istishhad

224 of 300 suicide terror attacks from 1980 to 2003 compiled by the Chicago Project on Suicide Terrorism involved Islamist groups or terrorist acts in Muslim-majority lands. See also Martyrdom in Islam Istishhad (استشهاد means the seeking of or the act of Martyrdom, martyrdom being defined as a military or insurgent attack ^[25] Another tabulation found a massive increase in suicide bombings in the two years following Papes study and that the overwhelming majority of these bombers were motivated by the ideology of Islamist martyrdom. ^[26] According to still another estimate, as of early 2008, 1,121 Muslim suicide bombers have blown themselves up in Iraq alone. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. ^[27]

Muslim views

Some Sunni scholars reject suicide. Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h (Arabic ^[28] However, some top authorities do support suicide attacks on perceived enemies of Islam. Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, sometimes called "the world's most quoted independent Islamic jurist",^[29] has called martyrdom operations:

the greatest of all sorts of Jihad in the Cause of Allah. Yusuf al-Qaradawi ( Arabic: يوسف القرضاوي Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwiy) (born September 9, 1926) is an Egyptian Muslim A martyr operation is carried out by a person who sacrifices himself, deeming his life less value than striving in the Cause of Allah, in the cause of restoring the land and preserving the dignity. ^[30]

Other clerics have supported attacks mainly in connection with Palestine. Sunni Iraqi Cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Qubeisi has proclaimed that "those who commit martyrdom [i. e. suicide] operations who are, by Allah, the greatest martyrs in Islamic history. . . "^[31] Amongst others the Imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sudayyis,^[32], the former President of Al-Azhar University, Ahmad 'Omar Hashem^[33] and Cleric, Sheikh Ibrahim Mudeiris of Gaza^[34] have all urged on suicide operations by Muslims. Sayed Mohammed Musawi, head of the World Islamic League in London, condemning the London bombings, but insisted "there should be a clear distinction between the suicide bombing of those who are trying to defend themselves from occupiers, which is something different from those who kill civilians, which is a big crime. The 7 July 2005 London bombings (also called the 7/7 bombings) were a series of coordinated bomb blasts that hit London's public transport system during "^[35] There have been conflicting reports about the stand of Sheikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy, the top Egyptian cleric of Al ­Azhar University, and the mufti of Egypt, Sheikh Dr. Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi (محمد سيد طنطاوى (born 28 October 1928) is the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque and Grand Ahmad Al ­Tayyeb. Shortly after 9/11 the Sheikh Tantawy issued a statement apposing suicide attacks. ^[36] But a translation from Al ­Azhar website quotes him as supporting suicide attacks on Jews in Israel as part of the Palestinian struggle "to strike horror into the hearts of the enemies of Islam. " Then in mid-2003 he was quoted again as saying "groups which carried out suicide bombings were the enemies of Islam. "^[37]

According to Professor Charles A. Kimball, chair of the Department of Religion at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, "There is only one verse in the Qur'an that contains a phrase related to suicide", Verse 4:29 of the Qur'an. Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational University in North Carolina, founded in 1834 Winston-Salem is a city in the US state of North Carolina. As of the 2000 census the city population was 185776 in 2004 the city annexed an additional 17483 The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran ^[38] It reads O you who believe! Do not consume your wealth in the wrong way-rather through trade mutually agreed to, and do not kill yourselves. Surely God is Merciful toward you. Some commentators believe that the phrase "do not kill yourselves" is better translated "do not kill each other", and some translations (e. g. Shakir) reflect that view. Mohammed Habib Shakir, (1866 Cairo &ndash1939 Cairo (محمد حبيب شاكر was an Egyptian Judge, born in Cairo and a graduate from Al Azhar

Mainstream Islamic groups such as the European Council for Fatwa and Research use the Quran'ic verse Al-Anam 6:151 (And take not life, which Allah has made sacred, except by way of justice and law) as further reason to prohibit suicide. ^[39] In addition, the hadith unambiguously forbid suicide. Hadith ( ar الحديث, pl aḥadīth; lit. "narrative" are oral Traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Islamic ^[40]

A contrary view is presented by Faisal Bodi who has written in The Guardian that, "in the Muslim world, then, we celebrate what we call the martyr-bombers. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. To us they are heroes defending the things we hold sacred. Polls in the Middle East show 75% of people in favour of martyr-bombings. "^[29] Nevertheless, Islamist militant organisations (including Al-Qaeda, Hamas and Islamic Jihad) continue to argue that suicide operations are justified according to Islamic law, despite Islam's strict prohibition of suicide and murder. Al-Qaeda, alternatively spelled al-Qaida, al-Qa`ida or al-Qa`idah, ( Arabic:; ar-Latn ''al-qāʿidah'' Translation: The Ḥamas (ar حركة حماس acronym ar حركة المقاومة The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في فلسطين - Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn ^[41][42] Irshad Manji, in a conversation with one leader of Islamic Jihad noted their ideology. Irshad Manji (born 1968 is a Canadian Feminist, Author, journalist, activist and professor of leadership

"What's the difference between suicide, which the Koran condemns, and martyrdom?" I asked. "Suicide," he replied, "is done out of despair. But remember: most of our martyrs today were very successful in their earthly lives. " In short, there was a future to live for--and they detonated it anyway.

Since the four suicide bombings in London, there have been many scholastic refutations of suicide bombings from Sunni Muslims. Ihsanic Intelligence, a London-based Islamic think-tank, published their two-year study into suicide bombings in the name of Islam, titled 'The Hijacked Caravan',^[43] which concluded that, "The technique of suicide bombing is anathema, antithetical and abhorrent to Sunni Islam. It is considered legally forbidden, constituting a reprehensible innovation in the Islamic tradition, morally an enormity of sin combining suicide and murder and theologically an act which has consequences of eternal damnation. "^[44] The Oxford-based Malayist jurist, Shaykh Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti, issued his landmark fatwa on suicide bombing and targeting innocent civilians, titled 'Defending the Transgressed, by Censuring the Reckless against the Killing of Civilians', where he states suicide bombing in its most widespread form, is forbidden: 'If the attack involves a bomb placed on the body or placed so close to the bomber that when the bomber detonates it the bomber is certain [yaqin] to die, then the More Correct Position according to us is that it does constitute suicide. This is because the bomber, being also the Maqtul [the one killed], is unquestionably the same Qatil [the immediate/active agent that kills] = Qatil Nafsahu [suicide]"^[45]

In January of 2006, one of Shia Islam's highest ranking Marja clerics, Ayatollah al-Udhma Yousof al-Sanei also decreed a fatwa against suicide bombing, declaring it as a "terrorist act". Marja ( Arabic / Persian: مرجع also appearing as Marja Taqlid or Marja Dini ( Arabic / Persian: مرجع تقليد TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> Grand Ayatollah Yousof Sanei is an Iranian scholar renowned A fatwā (فتوى plural fatāwā فتاوى in the Islamic faith is a religious opinion on Islamic law issued by an ^[46]

Nationalist motivation

Various scholars and analysts, however, dispute the claim that Muslim suicide bombers are driven by religion.

Research of Professor Robert A. Pape of the University of Chicago suggests that foreign occupation is the principal factor motivating suicide:

Beneath the religious rhetoric with which [such terror] is perpetrated, it occurs largely in the service of secular aims. Robert Anthony Pape Jr (born 1960) is an American political scientist known for his work on international security affairs especially Strategic air power Suicide terrorism is mainly a response to foreign occupation rather than a product of Islamic fundamentalism. . . . Though it speaks of Americans as infidels, al-Qaida is less concerned with converting us to Islam than removing us from Arab and Muslim lands. ^[47]

From 1980 to early 2004, 95% of suicide attacks had the central objective of compelling a democratic state with military forces on territory that the terrorists prize to take those forces out.

Much of the discourse that frames or responds to suicide bombing addresses or attempts to uncover the rationality of the action itself. Generally, the suicide bomber is understood as irrational —driven beyond the boundaries of rational thought by environmental, religious, political, and/or social factors —therefore capable of setting aside the "common sense" of self-preservation. The Pentagon released a study tasked with pinpointing motivation:

"His actions provide a win-win scenario for himself, his family, his faith and his God," The document explains. The Pentagon is the Headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. "The bomber secures salvation and the pleasures of Paradise. He earns a degree of financial security and a place for his family in Paradise. He defends his faith and takes his place in a long line of martyrs to be memorialized as a valorous fighter. And finally, because of the manner of his death, he is assured that he will find favor with Allah," the briefing adds. "Against these considerations, the selfless sacrifice by the individual Muslim to destroy Islam's enemies becomes a suitable, feasible and acceptable course of action. "

Recent published research on the rationale of suicide bombing as an effective technique to kill enemies has highlighted the importance of motivation as a driving force. ^[48][49][50]While some scholars uncover the interplay of such conduct with political and socio-economic factors,^[51][52]others agree that religion is a driving force to encourage suicide bombers. This mainstream puts forward that religion provides the framework for suicide bombing precisely because acting in the name of Islam is regarded as a form of martyrdom. Since "martyrdom"is widely seen as a step towards Heaven, those who commit suicide whilst discarding their community from a common enemy believe that they will reach an ultimate salvation after they die. ^[53]

Terrorists claiming that bombers will be greeted by "72 virgins" are referring to Houri and this is a common supposed motivation. In Islam, the ḥūr or ḥūrīyah ( are described as "(splendid companions of equal age (well-matched" "lovely eyed" of "modest

The briefing – produced by a little-known Pentagon intelligence unit called the Counterintelligence Field Activity, or CIFA – cites a number of passages from the Quran dealing with jihad, or "holy" warfare, martyrdom and Paradise, where "beautiful mansions" and "maidens" await martyr heroes. Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA was a United States Department of Defense (DoD agency whose size and budget were classified In preparation for attacks, suicide terrorists typically recited passages from the Quran.

Various scholars and analysts, however, dispute the claim that Muslim suicide bombers are driven by religion.

Small-world factors and group dynamics

According to anthropologist Scott Atran^[54] and former CIA case officer Marc Sageman ,^[55]support for suicide actions is triggered by moral outrage at perceived attacks against Islam and sacred values, but this is converted to action as a result of small world factors. Scott Atran (born 1952 is an American Anthropologist. Education and early career Atran was born in New York City in 1952 and received his PhD in Anthropology Marc Sageman, MD PhD is a former Foreign Service Officer who was based in Islamabad from 1987 to 1989 where he worked closely with Afghanistan's mujahedin There are millions who express sympathy with global jihad (according to a 2006 Gallup study in involving more than 50,000 interviews in dozens of countries, 7 percent of the world's 1. 3. billion Muslims - 90 million people - consider the 9/11 attacks "completely justified. ") Nevertheless, only some thousands show willingness to commit violence (e. g. , 60 arrested in the USA, 2400 in Western Europe, 3200 in Saudi Arabia). They tend to go to violence in small groups consisting mostly of friends, and some kin (although friends tend to become kin as they marry one another's sisters and cousins - there are dozens of such marriages among militant members of Southeast Asia's Jemaah Islamiyah). History The JI was established as a loose confederation of several Islamic groups These groups arise within specific "scenes": neighborhoods, schools (classes, dorms), workplaces and common leisure activities (soccer, paintball, mosque discussion groups, barbershop, café, online chat-rooms).

Three other examples:

1. In Al Qaeda, about 70 percent join with friends, 20 percent with kin. Al-Qaeda, alternatively spelled al-Qaida, al-Qa`ida or al-Qa`idah, ( Arabic:; ar-Latn ''al-qāʿidah'' Translation: The Interviews with friends of the 9/11 suicide pilots reveal they weren't "recruited" into Qaeda. They were Middle Eastern Arabs isolated even among the Moroccan and Turkish Muslims who predominate in Germany. Seeking friendship, they began hanging out after services at the Masjad al-Quds and other nearby mosques in Hamburg, in local restaurants and in the dormitory of the Technical University in the suburb of Harburg. Three (Mohammed Atta, Ramzi Binalshibh, Marwan al-Shehhi) wound up living together as they self-radicalized. Mohamed Atta ( ar محمد عطا السيد) (September 1 1968 &ndash September 11 2001 was an Egyptian Islamist, Ramzi Binalshibh (رمزي بن الشيبة of which Binalshibh is an erroneous latinization also erroneous is the transliterated version of Ramzi bin al-Shibh A University student Marwan Yousef al-Shehhi ( Arabic: مروان الشحي also transliterated Alshehhi) (May 9 1978 &ndash September 11 2001 was They wanted to go to Chechnya, then Kosovo, only landing in a Qaeda camp in Afghanistan as a distant third choice. The Chechen Republic (ˈʧɛʧɨn rɪˈpʌblɨk Чече́нская Респу́блика Chechenskaya Respublika; Нохчийн Республика Noxçiyn Respublika Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت,

2. Five of the seven plotters in the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings who blew themselves up when cornered by police grew up in the tumble-down neighborhood of Jemaa Mezuak in Tetuan, Morocco: Jamal Ahmidan, brothers Mohammed and Rashid Oulad Akcha, Abdennabi Kounjaa, Asri Rifaat. In 2006, at least five more young Mezuaq men went to Iraq on "martyrdom missions": Abdelmonim Al-Amrani, Younes Achebak, Hamza Aklifa, and the brothers Bilal and Munsef Ben Aboud (DNA analysis has confirmed the suicide bombing death of Amrani in Baqubah, Iraq). All 5 attended a local elementary school (Abdelkrim Khattabi), the same one that Madrid’s Moroccan bombers attended. And 4 of the 5 were in the same high school class (Kadi Ayadi, just outside Mezuak). They played soccer as friends, went to the same mosque (Masjad al-Rohban of the Dawa Tabligh), mingled in the same restaurants, barbershops and cafes.

3. Hamas's most sustained suicide bombing campaign in 2003-4 involved several buddies from Hebron's Masjad (mosque) al-Jihad soccer team. Ḥamas (ar حركة حماس acronym ar حركة المقاومة Most lived in the Wad Abu Katila neighborhood and belonged to the al-Qawasmeh hamula (clan); several were classmates in the neighborhood's local branch of the Palestinian Polytechnic College. There ages ranged from 18 to 22. At least eight team members were dispatched to suicide shooting and bombing operations by the Hamas military leader in Hebron, Abdullah al-Qawasmeh (killed by Israeli forces in June 2003 and succeeded by his relatives Basel al-Qawasmeh, killed in September 2003, and Imad al-Qawasmeh, captured on October 13, 2004). In retaliation for the assassinations of Hamas leaders Sheikh Ahmed Yassin (March 22, 2004) and Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi (April 17, 2004), Imad al-Qawasmeh dispatched Ahmed al-Qawasmeh and Nasim al-Ja'abri for a suicide attack on two buses in Beer Sheva (August 31, 2004). Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Yassin (1937 – March 22 2004 ( Arabic: ar الشيخ أحمد ياسين was the co-founder with Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, of Hamas Dr Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi (عبدالعزيز الرنتيسي ( October 23, 1947 – was the co-founder of the militant Palestinian Islamist organization In December 2004, Hamas declared a halt to suicide attacks.

On January 15, 2008, the son of Mahmoud al-Zahar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, was killed (another son was killed in a 2003 assassination attempt on Zahar). Mahmud al-Zahar (محمود الزهار (born 1945 is a co-founder of Hamas and a member of the Hamas leadership in the Palestinian occupied Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip (قطاع غزة, רצועת עזה Retzu'at 'Azza) is a coastal strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Egypt on the south-west Three days later, Israel Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered Israel Defense Forces to seal all border crossings with Gaza, cutting off the flow of vital supplies to the besieged territory in an attempt to stop rocket barrages on Israeli border towns. Ehud Barak (אֵהוּד בָּרָק born Ehud Brog on 12 February 1942) is an Israeli politician former Prime Minister, and The Israel Defense Forces ( IDF) (צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, lit Nevertheless, violence from both sides only increased. On February 4, 2008, two friends (Mohammed Herbawi, Shadi Zghayer), who were members of the Masjad al-Jihad soccer team, staged a suicide bombing at at commercial center in Dimona, Israel. Herbawi had previously been arrested as a 17-year-old on March 15, 2003 shortly after a suicide bombing on Haifa bus (by Mamoud al-Qawasmeh on March 5, 2003) and coordinated suicide shooting attacks on Israeli settlements by others on the team (March 7, 2003, Muhsein, Hazem al-Qawasmeh, Fadi Fahuri, Sufian Hariz) and before another set of suicide bombings by team members in Hebron and Jerusalem on May 17-18, 2003 (Fuad al-Qawasmeh, Basem Takruri, Mujahed al-Ja'abri). Although Hamas claimed responsibility for the Dimona attack, the politburo leadership in Damascus and Beirut was clearly initially unaware of who initiated and carried out the attack. It appears that Ahmad al-Ja'abri, military commander of Hamas's Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza (and who is also originally from a Hebron clan) requested the suicide attack through Ayoub Qawasmeh, Hamas's military liaison in Hebron, who knew where to look for eager young men who had self-radicalized together and had already mentally prepared themselves for martyrdom. The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades ( كتائب الشهيد عز الدين القسام; named after Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ^[56]

History

Background

The concept of self-sacrifice has long been a part of war. However, many instances of suicide bombing today has intended civilian targets, not military targets alone. "Suicide bombing as a tool of stateless terrorists was dreamed up a hundred years ago by the European anarchists immortalized in Joseph Conrad’s 'Secret Agent. '" ^[57]

An example of such self-sacrifice in warfare in medieval legend is Arnold von Winkelried. Arnold von Winkelried or Arnold Winkelried is a legendary hero of Swiss history who allegedly was the main factor of the victory of the confederate forces of the The earliest reference of a suicide attack outside a context of warfare has been suggested to be in the story of Samson who died together with his victims as he collapsed a Philistine temple:

"Samson said, 'Let me die with the Philistines!' Down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Samson, Shimshon ( Hebrew: שמשון, Standard Šimšon Tiberian Šimšôn; meaning Thus he killed many more as he died than while he lived. " (Judges 16:30).

Pedants argue over whether different historical figures were suicide attackers. Historical doubt surrounds the actions of legendary 14th century Swiss hero Arnold von Winkelried, which was in any case an act in the heat of battle. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Arnold von Winkelried or Arnold Winkelried is a legendary hero of Swiss history who allegedly was the main factor of the victory of the confederate forces of the Some have cited Samson's destruction of a Philistine temple (as recounted in the Book of Judges) as an ancient example of mass murder-suicide. Samson, Shimshon ( Hebrew: שמשון, Standard Šimšon Tiberian Šimšôn; meaning The Philistines ( Hebrew פלשתים plishtim) (see "other uses" below were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan, Book of Judges ( Hebrew: Sefer Shoftim ספר שופטים is a book of the Bible originally written in Hebrew. ^[58] But it cannot qualify as such because Samson was directly dependent on God for the use of his enormous strength, as his temporary loss of it a short time earlier shows. )

An example is from the time of the Crusades, when the Knights Templar destroyed one of their own ships, killing 140 Christians in order to kill ten times as many Muslims. The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici commonly known as the Knights Templar or the Order

In the late 17th century, Qing official Yu Yonghe recorded that injured Dutch soldiers fighting against Koxinga's forces for control of Taiwan in 1661 would use gunpowder to blow up both themselves and their opponents rather than be taken prisoner. Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Koxinga ( Pe̍h-oē-jī: Kok-sèng-iâ/Kok-sìⁿ-iâ Lord with the Imperial Surname) is the traditional Western spelling of the popular appellation of Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia. ^[59]

A modern example of suicide bombing occurred during the Belgian Revolution, when the Dutch Lieutenant Jan van Speijk detonated his own ship in the harbour of Antwerp to prevent being captured by the Belgians. The Belgian Revolution was a conflict in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands that began with a riot in Brussels in August 1830 and eventually led to the Lieutenant (abbreviated Lt or Lieut) is a Military, Naval, Paramilitary, Fire service, Emergency medical services Jan Carolus Josephus van Speijk, also written Van Speyk, ( 31 January 1802 - 5 February 1831) was a Dutch naval A harbor or harbour (see spelling differences) or haven, is a place where ships may shelter from the Weather or are stored ||-||-||-||} Antwerp ( Dutch:, French: Anvers) is a City and Municipality in Belgium and the capital of the

During their revolts against the British in late the 1700s, 1818 and 1848 the Sinhalese conducted numerous suicide attacks against the British. The common tactic was to hide inside a hollowed Kitul Palm Caryota urens tree trunk and blow up oneself when the British troops came near. Caryota urens is a Species of Flowering plant in the palm family from Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and India where they

Another example was the Prussian soldier Karl Klinke on 18 April 1864 at the Battle of Dybbøl, when he blew a hole in a Danish fortification. The Kingdom of Prussia (Königreich Preußen was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918 and from 1871 was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising The Battle of Dybbøl (Slaget ved Dybbøl Erstürmung der Düppeler Schanzen was the key Battle of the Second War of Schleswig and occurred on the morning of The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for

The act of deliberately destroying oneself to inflict harm on an enemy, especially civilians, is more restricted to modern times and the era of explosives. The line between the two is considered by some a matter of subjectivity, as in the argument that many WWII soldiers killed were "martyrs" (in the sense that they were to suffer for the sake of a principle, rather than dying as the penalty for refusing to renounce a belief) because their life expectancy in combat was very low—often averaging only two or three months. The term martyr ( Greek μάρτυς martys "witness" is most commonly used today to describe an individual who sacrifices their life (or personal freedom

Modern suicide bombing as a political tool can be traced back to the assassination of Czar Alexander II of Russia in 1881. Alexander (Aleksandr II Nikolaevich (Александр II Николаевич ( Moscow, 29 April 1818 – 13 March 1881 in St Alexander fell victim to a Nihilist plot. The Nihilist movement was a Russian Anarchist movement in the 1860s which rejected existing authorities and values While driving on one of the central streets of Saint Petersburg, near the Winter Palace, he was mortally wounded by the explosion of hand-made grenades and died a few hours afterwards. Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River See also The movie Russian Ark, an innovative single shot walkthrough with period reenactments spanning three hundred years of court meetings The Tzar was killed by the Pole Ignacy Hryniewiecki, who died while intentionally exploding the bomb during the attack. Ignacy Hryniewiecki Polish (Party name Kotik, Russian for "Kitten") 1856 – 13 March 1881) was a Polish student and

A Japanese Mitsubishi Zero's suicide attack on a US escort carrier in 1945

The ritual act of self-sacrifice during combat appeared in a large scale at the end of World War II with the Japanese kamikaze bombers. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The escort aircraft carrier or escort carrier (popularly known as the jeep carrier) was a small Aircraft carrier utilized by the Royal Navy World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. ( is a word of Japanese origin which in English usually refers to the Suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against In these attacks, airplanes were used as flying bombs. Later in the war, as Japan became more desperate, this act became formalized and ritualized, as planes were outfitted with explosives specific to the task of a suicide mission. Kamikaze strikes were a weapon of asymmetric war used by the Empire of Japan against United States Navy and Royal Navy aircraft carriers, although the armoured flight deck of the Royal Navy carriers diminished Kamikaze effectiveness. The Empire of Japan ( {{unicode|Kyūjitai}}: ja 大日本帝國 Shinjitai: ja 大日本帝国 pronounced Dai Nippon Teikoku The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) An aircraft carrier is a Warship designed with The Comparison of armoured to unarmoured flight deck designs is often made between some of the Aircraft carrier designs of the Royal Navy and the United

The Japanese Navy also used both one and two man piloted torpedoes called kaiten on suicide missions. The modern torpedo (historically called an automotive automobile locomotive or fish torpedo is a self-propelled explosive Projectile weapon launched above or below This article is about the suicide torpedo For other meanings see Kaiten (disambiguation. Although sometimes called midget submarines, these were modified versions of the unmanned torpedoes of the time and are distinct from the torpedo-firing midget submarines used earlier in the war, which were designed to infiltrate shore defences and return to a mother ship after firing their torpedoes. A midget submarine is any Submarine under 150 tons typically operated by one or two but up to 6 or 8 crew with no on-board living accommodation A shore or shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water such as an Ocean, Sea, or Lake. A mother ship is a vessel or aircraft that carries a smaller vessel or aircraft that operates independently from it Though extremely hazardous, these midget submarine attacks were not technically suicide missions, as the earlier kaitens had escape hatches. Later kaitens, by contrast, provided no means of escape.

After aiming a two-person kaiten at their target, the two crew members traditionally embraced and shot each other in the head. Social support for such choices was strong, due in part to Japanese cultural history, in which seppuku, honourable suicide, was part of samurai duty. is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by Disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for Samurai. is the term for the military nobility of Pre-industrial Japan. Duty (from "due" that which is owing O Fr deu did past participle of devoir Lat It was also fostered and indoctrinated by the Imperial program to persuade the Japanese soldiers to commit these acts. Persuasion is a form of Social influence. It is the process of guiding people toward the adoption of an idea attitude or action by rational and symbolic (though not always

Suicide attacks were used as a military tactic aimed at causing material damage in war, during the Second World War in the Pacific as Allied ships were attacked by Japanese kamikaze pilots who caused maximum damage by flying their explosive-laden aircraft into military targets, not focused on civilian targets. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers during the Second World War. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. ( is a word of Japanese origin which in English usually refers to the Suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against

During the Battle for Berlin the Luftwaffe flew "Self-sacrifice missions" (Selbstopfereinsatz) against Soviet bridges over the River Oder. For the bombing campaign on Berlin by the RAF from November 1943 to March 1944 see Battle of Berlin (air. The Oder (known in Czech and Polish as Odra) is a River in Central Europe. These 'total missions' were flown by pilots of the Leonidas Squadron under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Heiner Lange. Leonidas ( Greek:; "Lion's son" "Lion-like" was a king of Sparta, the 17th of the Agiad line one of the sons From 17 April until 20 April 1945, using any aircraft that were available, the Luftwaffe claimed that the squadron destroyed 17 bridges, however the military historian Antony Beevor when writing about the incident thinks that this was exaggerated and that only the railway bridge at Küstrin was definitely destroyed. Events 69 - After the First Battle of Bedriacum, Vitellius becomes Roman Emperor. Events 1303 - The University of Rome La Sapienza is instituted by Pope Boniface VIII. Antony James Beevor (born 14 December 1946) is a British Historian, educated at Winchester College and Sandhurst. He comments that "thirty-five pilots and aircraft was a high price to pay for such a limited and temporary success". The missions were called off when the Soviet ground forces reached the vicinity of the squadron's airbase at Jüterbog. Jüterbog (2002 pop 13604 is a City in north-eastern Germany, located in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg, on the Nuthe ^[60]

Following World War II, Viet Minh "death volunteers" fought against the French colonial army by using a long stick-like explosive to detonate French tanks, as part of their urban warfare tactics. The Việt Minh (abbreviated from Việt Nam Ðộc Lập Ðồng Minh Hội, English "League for the Independence of Vietnam" was a National liberation This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. An army (from Latin Armata "act of arming" via Old French armée) in the broadest sense is the land-based Armed forces

In 1972 in the hall of the Lod airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, three Japanese used grenades and automatic rifles to kill 26 people and wound many more. The Lod Airport massacre was a terrorist attack that occurred on May 30, 1972, in which three members of the Japanese Red Army, on behalf of Tel Aviv-Yafo (תֵּל ־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ تل أبيب Tal ʾAbīb) (usually Tel Aviv) is the second-largest city in Israel For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Automatic rifle is a term generally used to describe a Self-loading rifle chambered for a rifle cartridge capable of delivering both semi ^[61] The group belonged to the Japanese Red Army (JRA) a terrorist organization created in 1969 and allied to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The was a Terrorist group founded by Fusako Shigenobu in February 1971 after she broke away from the Japanese Communist League-Red Army Faction A military alliance is an agreement between two or more military factions related to Wartime planning commitments or contingencies such agreements can be both The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ( PFLP) ( Arabic: الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Tahrīr Until then, no group involved in terrorism had conducted such a suicide operation in Israel. Members of the JRA became instructors in martial art and kamikaze operations at several training camps bringing the suicide techniques to the Middle East. Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for Combat. ( is a word of Japanese origin which in English usually refers to the Suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East.

1980 to present

The first modern suicide bombing—involving explosives deliberately carried to the target either on the person or in a civilian vehicle and delivered by surprise—was in 1981; perfected by the factions of the Lebanese Civil War and especially by the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka, the tactic had spread to dozens of countries by 2005 . The Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990 was a multifaceted Civil war whose antecedents can be traced back to the conflicts and political compromises reached after the end "LTTE" redirects here For the Led Zeppelin bootleg see Listen to This Eddie. Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island Those hardest-hit are Sri Lanka during its prolonged ethnic conflict, Lebanon during its civil war, Israel and the Palestinian Territories since 1994 , and Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. The Sri Lankan Civil War is an Ongoing conflict on the Island -nation of Sri Lanka. Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية The Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990 was a multifaceted Civil war whose antecedents can be traced back to the conflicts and political compromises reached after the end For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Name There are differences of opinion as to what the Palestinian territories should be called For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia

Former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi was the first and most high-profile victim of female suicide bombing. The Prime Minister of India is head of the Council of Ministers, appointed by the President to assist the latter in the administration of the affairs of the executive Rajiv Gandhi राजीव गांधी (raːdʒiːv gaːnd̪ʰiː born in Bombay, (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991 the elder son of Indira and Feroze Though the majority of suicide bombers have been male female suicide bombers have carried out a number of attacks since 1985 Shown here is a mosaic commemorating Rajiv at the exact place where he was assassinated.

The Islamic Dawa Party's car bombing of the Iraqi embassy in Beirut in December 1981 and Hezbollah's bombing of the U.S. embassy in April 1983 and attack on United States Marine and French barracks in October 1983 brought suicide bombings international attention. The Islamic Dawa Party or Islamic Call Party ( Arabic حزب الدعوة الإسلامية Ḥizb al Daʿwa al-Islāmiyya) is historically a militant Shiite A car bomb is an explosive device placed in a car or other Vehicle and then detonated. A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one State or an international Inter-governmental organization (such as the United Nations) present in Beirut (بيروت Bayrūt) is the Capital and Largest city of Lebanon with a population of over 2 Hezbollah (حزب الله, literally " party of God " is a Shi'a Islamic political and Paramilitary organisation The 1983 US Embassy bombing was a suicide bombing against the United States Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon on April 18, 1983 that killed over The Beirut barracks bombing was a major incident on October 23, 1983, during the Lebanese Civil War. Other parties to the civil war were quick to adopt the tactic, and by 1999 factions such as Hezbollah, the Amal Movement, the Ba'ath Party, and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party had carried out around 50 suicide bombings between them. For other uses of Amal see the disambiguation page. Amal Movement ( Arabic: abbreviation of أفواج المقاومة اللبنانية transliterated The Arab Socialist Ba'th Party (also spelled Baath or Ba'ath; Arabic: حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي was founded in Damascus The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (or SSNP ( Arabic: الحزب السوري القومي الاجتماعي al-Hizb as-Sūrī al-Qawmī al-Ijtimā`ī) often referred (The latter of these groups sent the first recorded female suicide bomber in 1985 . Sana'a Mehaidli ( August 14, 1968 - April 9, 1985) was a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party who at the age of 16 blew herself Though the majority of suicide bombers have been male female suicide bombers have carried out a number of attacks since 1985 Female combatants have existed throughout human history and in many different societies, so it is possible that females who engage in suicidal attacks are not new. ) Hezbollah was the only one to attack overseas, bombing the Israeli embassy (and possibly the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association building) in Buenos Aires; as its military and political power have grown, it has since abandoned the tactic. The Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires was a Bomb attack against Israel 's Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina on March The AMIA Bombing was an attack on the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA Argentine Israelite Jewish Mutual Association building in Buenos Aires on Buenos Aires is the Capital and largest city of Argentina. It is geographically located on the southern shore of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern

Lebanon saw the first bombing, but it was the LTTE Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka who perfected the tactic and inspired its use elsewhere [4]. "LTTE" redirects here For the Led Zeppelin bootleg see Listen to This Eddie. Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island Their Black Tiger unit has committed between 76 and 168 (estimates vary) suicide bombings since 1987 , the higher estimates putting them behind more than half of the world's suicide bombings between 1980 and 2000 [5]. The Black Tigers are special wing of the LTTE who compose of specially selected and trained LTTE soldiers whose missions give them little chance of survival The list of victims include former Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, and the president of Sri Lanka, Ranasinghe Premadasa. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Rajiv Gandhi राजीव गांधी (raːdʒiːv gaːnd̪ʰiː born in Bombay, (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991 the elder son of Indira and Feroze Ranasinghe Premadasa ( June 23, 1924 - May 1, 1993) was the 3rd President of Sri Lanka from January 2, 1989

Suicide bombing has, since 1993, been a particularly popular tactic amongst some Palestinian groups, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. Palestinian people or Palestinians ( الشعب الفلسطيني, ash-sha`b al-filasTīni; الفلسطينيون, al-filasTīnīyyūn Ḥamas (ar حركة حماس acronym ar حركة المقاومة The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في فلسطين - Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades (كتائب شهداء الأقصى is a coalition of Palestinian militias in Bombers affiliated with these groups often use so-called "suicide belts", explosive devices (often including shrapnel) designed to be strapped to the body under clothing. An explosive belt (also called suicide belt, Bomberpilot Jacket, suicide vest or shaheed belt) is A bomb is any of a range of devices that typically rely on the Exothermic Chemical reaction of an Explosive material to produce an extremely Shrapnel is the term originally applied to an anti-personnel artillery shell which carried a large number of individual bullets to the target and then ejected them forwards relying In order to maximize the loss of life, the bombers may seek out cafés or city buses crowded with people at rush hour, or less commonly a military target (for example, soldiers waiting for transport at roadside). Rush hour at Shinjuku 02JPG|thumb|right|250px|Rush hour at Shinjuku Station, Yamanote Line]] A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which By seeking enclosed locations, a successful bomber usually kills a number of people.

Palestinian television has aired a number of music videos and announcements that promote eternal reward for children who seek "shahada",^[62] which Palestinian Media Watch has claimed is "Islamic motivation of suicide terrorists". Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic A music video is a Short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music most commonly a Song with lyrics Promotion involves disseminating information about a product, Product line, Brand, or company The Shahada ( Arabic: ar الشهادة, from the verb ar شهد "to testify" is the Islamic Creed. ^[63] The Chicago Tribune has documented the concern of Palestinian parents that their children are encouraged to take part in suicide operations. The Chicago Tribune is a major daily Newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and owned by the Tribune Company ^[64] Israeli sources have also alleged that Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah operate "Paradise Camps," training children as young as 11 to become suicide bombers. ^[65][66]

The Kurdistan Workers' Party has also employed suicide bombings in the scope of its guerrilla attacks on Turkish security forces since the beginning of their insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan or PKK, also called KADEK, Kongra-Gel, and KGK It is listed as a terrorist Although the majority of PKK activity is focused on village guards, gendarme, and military posts, they have employed suicide bombing tactics on tourist sites and commercial centers in Western Turkish cities, especially during the peak of tourism season. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan or PKK, also called KADEK, Kongra-Gel, and KGK It is listed as a terrorist Village guards ( Turkish: Korucular, officially Geçici ve Gönüllü Köy Korucuları ("temporary and voluntary village guards" are paramilitaries

The September 11, 2001 attacks involved the hijacking of large passenger jets which were deliberately flown into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon, killing everyone aboard the planes and thousands more in and around the targeted buildings. Hijacking (also known as skyjacking and aircraft piracy) is the take over of an Aircraft, by a person or group usually armed A jet aircraft is an Aircraft propelled by Jet engines Jet aircraft fly much faster than Propeller -powered aircraft and at higher altitudes -- as high as The World Trade Center in New York City, United States (sometimes informally the WTC or Twin Towers) was a complex of seven buildings in Lower Manhattan The City of New York The Pentagon is the Headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. The passenger jets selected were required to be fully fueled to fly cross-country, turning the planes themselves into the largest suicide bombs in history. The 'September 11' attacks also had a vast economic and political impact: for the cost of the lives of the 19 hijackers and financial expenditure of around US$100,000, al-Qaeda, the militant Islamist group responsible for the attacks, effected a trillion-dollar drop in global markets within one week, and triggered massive increases in military and security expenditure in response. Al-Qaeda, alternatively spelled al-Qaida, al-Qa`ida or al-Qa`idah, ( Arabic:; ar-Latn ''al-qāʿidah'' Translation: The For the British newspaper and Marxist organization see Militant tendency. Islamism ( Islam + ism; Arabic: al-'islāmiyya) a set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only

In December 22, 2001, Richard Reid attempted to destroy the American Airlines Flight 63 by the means of a bomb hidden in a shoe. Events 1790 - The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Background A British citizen born in Bromley, South London and educated at Thomas Tallis School in Kidbrooke, London The 2001 Shoe bomb plot was a failed bombing attempt that occurred on American Airlines Flight 63 on 22 December 2001. He was arrested after his attempt was foiled when he was unable to light the bomb's fuse. In an Explosive, Pyrotechnic device or military Munition, a fuse (or fuze) is the part of the device that initiates function

After the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iraqi and foreign insurgents carried out waves of suicide bombings. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia The Iraqi insurgency is composed of diverse mix of militias foreign fighters all Iraqi units or mixtures using violent measures against the US-led Coalition in Iraq They attacked United States military targets, although many civilian targets (eg. The United States Armed Forces are the overall unified military forces of the United States Shiite mosques, international offices of the UN and the Red Cross, Iraqi men waiting to apply for jobs with the new army and police force) were also attacked. A "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller privately owned mosque and the larger The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an International humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers worldwide who stated Police are agents or agencies usually of the executive, empowered to enforce the law and to effect public and social order through the legitimatized use of force In the lead up to the Iraqi parliamentary election, on January 30, 2005, suicide attacks upon civilian and security personnel involved with the elections increased, and there were reports of the insurgents co-opting disabled people as involuntary suicide bombers. Events 1648 - Eighty Years' War: The Treaty of Münster is signed ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. An election is a Decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold formal office ^[67] Professor Pape suggests that the bombings of Iraqis by Iraqis target those believed to be in the service of the American occupation.

Suicide bombings have occurred in more than 30 countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, China, Colombia, Croatia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, the Palestinian territories, Panama, the Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, and Yemen. Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. ( Bengali: বাংলাদেশ inc-Latn Bangladesh) officially China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. Croatia (Hrvatska ˈxȓvatska officially the Republic of Croatia ( Republika Hrvatska) is a southern Central European country at the crossroads between This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south The State of Kuwait ( دولة الكويت IPA [dawlatt̪ alkuwajt̪]) is a sovereign Arab Emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and Name There are differences of opinion as to what the Palestinian territories should be called Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. The Philippines ( Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (fil ''Republika ng Pilipinas'' RP Qatar ( قطر; ˈqɑtˁɑr local pronunciation giṭar officially the State of Qatar (Arabic دولة قطر transliterated Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA ( المملكة العربية السعودية, al-Mamlaka al-ʻArabiyya as-Suʻūdiyya) or Suudi Somalia ( Soomaaliya; الصومال) officially the Somali Republic ( Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, جمهورية الصومال) and formerly known Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island Tanzania ˌtænzəˈniːə officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( Uzbek: O‘zbekiston Respublikasi or Ўзбекистон Республикаси is a doubly Yemen ( Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman officially the Republic of Yemen ( Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya (Suicide planes were also used in the United States). The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

The 7th July 2005 London suicide bombers caught on CCTV at Luton train station at 07:21 BST on July 7, 2005. The 7 July 2005 London bombings (also called the 7/7 bombings) were a series of coordinated bomb blasts that hit London's public transport system during Luton ( is a large town in the east of England, 32 miles (51 kilometres north of London. |}A train station, railway station, railroad station, or station yard is a facility at which Passengers may board and alight from Trains From left to right, Hasib Hussain, Germaine Lindsay, Mohammad Sidique Khan, and Shehzad Tanweer. Biography Hussain was born in Leeds General Infirmary and raised in Holbeck, West Yorkshire Leeds, England the youngest of four children Germaine Maurice Lindsay, also known as Abdullah Shaheed Jamal, ( September 23, 1985 &ndash July 7, 2005) was one of the four Mohammad Sidique Khan ( October 20, 1974 &ndash July 7, 2005) was the oldest of the four suicide bombers responsible for the 7 July 2005 Biography Tanweer was born in St Luke 's maternity hospital Bradford to Parveen Akhtar whose husband Mohammed Mumtaz Tanweer was originally from the Faisalabad ^[68] (Image: Crown copyright)

Range of opinions

World leaders, especially those of countries that experience suicide bombings, usually express resolve to continue on their previous course of affairs after such attacks. Crown copyright is a form of Copyright claim used by the governments of a number of Commonwealth realms It provides special copyright rules for The Crown They denounce suicide bombings and sometimes vow not to let such bombings deter ordinary people from going about their everyday economic business.

Suicide bombings are sometimes followed by reprisals. Not to be confused with a Reprise. In warfare a reprisal is a limited and deliberate violation of the laws of war to punish an enemy for breaking As a successful suicide bomber cannot be targeted, the response is often a targeting of those believed to have sent the bomber. In targeting such organizations, Israel often uses military strikes against organizations, individuals, and possibly infrastructure. An organization (or organisation &mdash see spelling differences) is a social arrangement which pursues collective goals which controls its own performance and Infrastructure typically refers to the technical structures that support a society such as Roads Water supply, Wastewater, Power grids In the West Bank the IDF formerly demolished homes that belong to families whose children (or renters whose tenants) had volunteered for such missions (whether successfully or not),^[69] though an internal review starting in October 2004 brought an end to the policy. The West Bank (الضفة الغربية, הגדה המערבית Hagadah Hamaaravit) also referred to in Israel as " Judea and Samaria The Israel Defense Forces ( IDF) (צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, lit Demolition is the opposite of Construction: the tearing-down of Buildings and other Structures It contrasts with deconstruction ^[70] The effectiveness of suicide bombings—notably those of the Japanese kamikazes, the Palestinian bombers, and even the September 11, 2001 attacks—is debatable. ( is a word of Japanese origin which in English usually refers to the Suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Although kamikaze attacks could not stop the Allied advance the Pacific, they inflicted more casualties and delayed the fall of Japan for longer than might have been the case using only the conventional methods available to the Japanese Empire. The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers during the Second World War. The Pacific War was the part of World War II —and preceding conflicts—that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands and in East Asia, between For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. The Empire of Japan ( {{unicode|Kyūjitai}}: ja 大日本帝國 Shinjitai: ja 大日本帝国 pronounced Dai Nippon Teikoku Subsequently, Japanese leaders acknowledged the great cost in losing many of their best young men in these actions. The attacks reinforced the resolution of the World War II Allies to destroy the Imperial force, and may have had a significant effect in the decision to use atomic bombs against Japan. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics.

In the case of the September 11 attacks, the long-term effects remain to be seen, but in the short term, the results were negative for Al-Qaeda, as well as the Taliban Movement. The Taliban ( طالبان, also anglicised as Taleban; translation "students" is a Sunni Islamist, predominately Furthermore, since the September 11 attacks, Western nations have diverted massive resources towards stopping similar actions, as well as tightening up borders, and military actions against various countries that the U.S. and its allies believe to have been involved with terrorism. Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions such as Governments States or subnational administrative The United States of America —commonly referred to as the However, critics of the War on Terrorism suggest that in fact the results were profoundly negative, as the proceeding actions of the United States and other countries has increased the number of recruits, and their willingness to carry out suicide bombings. The War on Terrorism (also known as the War on Terror) is the common term for the military political and legal, and ideological conflict and specifically for U The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

It is more difficult to determine whether Palestinian suicide bombings have proved to be a successful tactic. In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the suicide bombers were repeatedly deployed since the Oslo Accords. Israeli-Palestinian conflict The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles ^[71] In 1996 , the Israelis elected the conservative candidate Benjamin Netanyahu who promised to restore safety by conditioning every step in the peace process on Israel's assessment of the Palestinian Authority's fulfillment of its obligations in curbing violence as outlined in the Oslo agreements. (בִּנְיָמִין "ביבי" נְתַנְיָהוּ Binyamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, born October 21 1949, Tel Aviv) was

In the course of al-Aqsa Intifada which followed the collapse of the Camp David II summit between the PLO and Israel, the number of suicide attacks drastically increased. The Middle East Peace Summit at Camp David of July 2000 took place between United States President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister The Palestine Liberation Organization ( PLO) (منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية or Munazzamat al-Tahrir al-Filastiniyyah) is a political and paramilitary In response, Israel mobilized its army in order to seal off the Gaza Strip and reinstate military control of the West Bank, patrolling the area with tanks. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. This article describes military mobilization For other meanings see Mobilization (disambiguation. The Gaza Strip (قطاع غزة, רצועת עזה Retzu'at 'Azza) is a coastal strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Egypt on the south-west The West Bank (الضفة الغربية, הגדה המערבית Hagadah Hamaaravit) also referred to in Israel as " Judea and Samaria A tank is a tracked, Armoured fighting vehicle designed for Front-line combat which combines Operational mobility and tactical The Israelis also began a campaign of targeted assassinations to kill militant Palestinian leaders, using jets and helicopters to deploy high-precision bombs and missiles. AssassiNation is the sixth album by Krisiun, released in 2006 on Century Media. For the British newspaper and Marxist organization see Militant tendency. History Since 400 AD Chinese children have played with bamboo flying toys. Precision bombing is the desired skill of being able to Bomb single buildings in a built up area without causing any damage to the surrounding buildings or the ability to place

The suicide missions, having killed hundreds and maimed thousands of Israelis, are believed by some to have brought on a move to the political right, increasing public support for hard-line policies towards the Palestinians, and a government headed by the former general, prime minister Ariel Sharon. This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. (אריאל In response to the suicide bombings, Sharon's government has imposed restrictions on the Palestinian community, making commerce, travel, school, and other aspects of life difficult for the Palestinians, with the average Palestinian suffering due to the choices of the suicide bombers. The Separation barrier under construction seem to be part of the Israeli government's efforts to stop suicide bombers from entering Israel proper. West bank walljpg|thumb|Aerial view looking east from the Israeli side

Social support by some for this activity remained, however, as of the calling of a truce at the end of June 2003 . This may be due to the economic or social purpose of the suicide bombing and the bombers' refusal to accept external judgements on those who sanction them.

If the objective is to kill as many people as possible, suicide bombing by terrorists may thus "work" as a tactic in that it costs fewer lives than any conventional military tactic and targeting unarmed civilians is much easier than targeting soldiers. As an objective designed to achieve some form of favorable outcome, especially a political outcome, most believe it to be a failure. Terrorist campaigns involving the targeting of civilians have never won a war. Analysts believe that in order to win or succeed, any guerrilla or terrorist campaign must first transform into something more than a guerrilla or terrorist movement. Such analysts believe that a terrorist cause has little political attraction and success may be achieved only by renouncing terrorism and transforming the passions into politics.

Israeli ultra-right politician and author Obadiah Shoher declared terrorism proper and efficient military tactics, and called for the Jews to answer in kind. ^[72] Shoher praised Baruch Goldstein who massacred Palestinian worshippers inside a mosque. Baruch Kappel Goldstein ( ברוך גולדשטיין; December 9, 1956 &ndash February 25, 1994) was an American born

Often extremists assert that, because they are outclassed militarily, suicide bombings are necessary. For example, the former leader of Hamas Sheikh Ahmad Yassin stated: "Once we have warplanes and missiles, then we can think of changing our means of legitimate self-defense. Ḥamas (ar حركة حماس acronym ar حركة المقاومة Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Yassin (1937 – March 22 2004 ( Arabic: ar الشيخ أحمد ياسين was the co-founder with Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, of Hamas But right now, we can only tackle the fire with our bare hands and sacrifice ourselves. "^[73]

Such views are challenged both from the outside and from within Islam. According to Islamic jurist and scholar Khaled Abou Al-Fadl,

The classical jurists, nearly without exception, argued that those who attack by stealth, while targeting noncombatants in order to terrorize the resident and wayfarer, are corrupters of the earth. Dr Khaled Abou El Fadl (born 1963 in Kuwait) is a professor of law at the UCLA School of Law where he teaches Islamic law, immigration human rights international "Resident and wayfarer" was a legal expression that meant that whether the attackers terrorize people in their urban centers or terrorize travelers, the result was the same: all such attacks constitute a corruption of the earth. The legal term given to people who act this way was muharibun (those who wage war against society), and the crime is called the crime of hiraba (waging war against society). The crime of hiraba was so serious and repugnant that, according to Islamic law, those guilty of this crime were considered enemies of humankind and were not to be given quarter or sanctuary anywhere. . . . Those who are familiar with the classical tradition will find the parallels between what were described as crimes of hiraba and what is often called terrorism today nothing short of remarkable. The classical jurists considered crimes such as assassinations, setting fires, or poisoning water wells - that could indiscriminately kill the innocent - as offenses of hiraba. Furthermore, hijacking methods of transportation or crucifying people in order to spread fear and terror are also crimes of hiraba. Importantly, Islamic law strictly prohibited the taking of hostages, the mutilation of corpses, and torture. ^[74]

Usage of "suicide bombing" and related terms

The usage of the term "suicide bombing" dates back to at least 1940 . An August 10, 1940 New York Times article mentions the term in relation to German tactics. Events 612 BC - Killing of Sinsharishkun, King of Assyrian Empire Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. A March 4, 1942 article refers to a Japanese attempt at a "suicide bombing" on an American carrier. Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Times (London) of April 15, 1947, page 2, refers to a new pilotless, radio-controlled rocket missile thus: "Designed originally as a counter-measure to the Japanese 'suicide-bomber,' it is now a potent weapon for defence or offence. The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. " The quotes are in the original and suggest that the phrase was an existing one. An earlier article (Aug 21, 1945, page 6) refers to a kamikaze plane as a "suicide-bomb. ( is a word of Japanese origin which in English usually refers to the Suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against "

The term with the meaning "an attacker blowing up himself or a vehicle to kill others" appeared in 1981 when it was used by Thomas Baldwin in an Associated Press article to describe the bombing of the Iraqi Embassy in Beirut. The Associated Press ( AP) is an American News agency. The AP is a Cooperative owned by its contributing Newspapers radio

In order to assign either a more positive or negative connotation to the act, suicide bombing is sometimes referred to by different terms. Islamists often call the act a isshtahad (meaning martyrdom operation), and the suicide bomber a shahid (pl. See also Martyrdom in Islam Istishhad (استشهاد means the seeking of or the act of Martyrdom, martyrdom being defined as a military or insurgent attack shuhada, literally 'witness' and usually translated as 'martyr'). The term denotes one who died in order to testify his faith in God (Allah), for example those who die while waging jihad bis saif; it is applied to suicide bombers, by the Palestinian Authority among others, in part to overcome Islamic strictures against suicide. Allah ( Arabic: الله, ʔalˤːɑːh) is the standard Arabic word for ' Jihad (جهاد ʤɪhæːd an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. This term has been embraced by Hamas, Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Fatah and other Palestinian factions engaging in suicide bombings. Ḥamas (ar حركة حماس acronym ar حركة المقاومة The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades (كتائب شهداء الأقصى is a coalition of Palestinian militias in Fatah (فتح literally opening, is a reverse Acronym from the Arabic name Harakat al-Tahrir al-Watani al-Filastini (حركة التحرير (The title is by no means restricted to suicide bombers and can be used for a wide range of people, including innocent victims; Muhammad al-Durra, for example, is among the most famous shuhada of the Intifada, and even a few non-Palestinians such as Tom Hurndall and Rachel Corrie have been called shahid. Muhammad Jamal al-Durrah (1988-2000 محمد جمال الدرة was a Palestinian boy reported to have been killed by gunfire from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF Thomas "Tom" Hurndall (29 November 1981 &ndash 13 January 2004 was a British photography student a Volunteer for the International Solidarity Movement Rachel Corrie ( April 10, 1979 &ndash March 16, 2003) was an American member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM )

"Homicide bombing"

Some effort has been made to replace the term suicide bombing with the term homicide bombing by conservative commentators and news outlets. The first such use was by White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer in April 2002. The White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official with a rank one step below Presidential Cabinet level Lawrence Ari Fleischer (born October 13 1960) was the press secretary for U ^[75] The Fox News Channel and the New York Post, both owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, are two media organizations that have adopted the term. The New York Post is the 13th-oldest Newspaper published in the United States and generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continually is gay Bold text' Keith Rupert Murdoch', AC, KCSG (born Melbourne, March 11 1931 usually known as Rupert Murdoch, is an Australian-American News Corporation (often abbreviated to News Corp) (,,) is one of the world's largest media conglomerate companies by Market capitalisation Fox News began using the term after it was suggested by former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an interview. The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and is the most powerful political officer in Israel (the President of Israel being a titular figurehead (בִּנְיָמִין "ביבי" נְתַנְיָהוּ Binyamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, born October 21 1949, Tel Aviv) was

Supporters of the term homicide bombing argue that since the primary purpose of such a bombing is to kill other people rather than merely to end one's own life, the term homicide is a more accurate description than suicide. Others argue that homicide bombing is a less useful term, since it fails to capture the distinctive feature of suicide bombings, namely the bombers' use of means which they are aware will inevitably bring about their own deaths. For instance, Timothy McVeigh and Theodore Kaczynski could both ostensibly be called "homicide bombers," but neither could be called a "suicide bomber. Timothy James McVeigh ( April 23, 1968 &ndash June 11, 2001) was a United States Army veteran and security guard who bombed " To this extent it has also been argued that most bombings are "homicide bombings", as loss of life is their inherent aim.

"Genocide bombing"

Another attempted replacement is genocide bombing. The term was coined in 2002 by Canadian member of parliament Irwin Cotler, in an effort to replace the term homicide bomber as a substitute for "suicide bomber. Irwin Cotler, PC, OC, MP (born May 8, 1940) was Canada 's Minister of Justice and Attorney General "^[76] The intention was to focus attention on the alleged intention of genocide by militant Palestinians in their calls to "Wipe Israel off the map. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group Palestinian people or Palestinians ( الشعب الفلسطيني, ash-sha`b al-filasTīni; الفلسطينيون, al-filasTīnīyyūn "^[77]

Notes

See also

• Jing Ke
• Hassan-i Sabbah
• Forlorn hope
• Human wave attack
• Istishhad
• Assassination
• Baby Suicide Bomber
• Child suicide bombers in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• Female suicide bomber
• Using animals instead of suicide
• Al Fateh
• List of Hamas suicide attacks
• List of Palestinian Islamic Jihad suicide attacks
• List of Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades suicide attacks

External links

• Channel 4's Cult of the Suicide Bomber
• Suicide Terrorism Works Riaz Hassan
• The psychology of Palestinian suicide bombing and Israeli paranoia
• The Economic Logic of Suicide Terrorism by Mark HarrisonPDF
• The Logic of Suicide Terrorism by Bruce Hoffman published in The Atlantic Monthly, June 2003
• Suicide Bdombers Why do they do it, and what does Islam say about their actions? - About.com
• The Hijacked Caravan Study refuting suicide bombing in Islam by Ihsanic Intelligence
• Defending the Transgressed Fatwa against suicide bombing by Shaykh Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti
• What makes suicide bombers tick? - Suicide bomber profile and info
• The Culture of Martyrdom How suicide bombing became not just a means but an end by David Brooks in The Atlantic Monthly June 2002
• Erased In A Moment Suicide Bombing Attacks Against Israeli Civilians [Human Rights Watch]
• History of use of the phrase "suicide bomber"
• USAF Suicide Bombers Intelligence Brief
• Women Armed for Terror - list of women terrorist-bombers. Jing Ke ( was a guest residing in the estates of Dan crown prince of Yan and renowned for his failed Assassination of the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang Hassan-i Sabbāh (حسن صباح حسن الصباح Hassan aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ, c Forlorn hope is a military term that comes from the Dutch verloren hoop, literally "lost heap" and adapted as "lost troop" See also Martyrdom in Islam Istishhad (استشهاد means the seeking of or the act of Martyrdom, martyrdom being defined as a military or insurgent attack AssassiNation is the sixth album by Krisiun, released in 2006 on Century Media. The ' Baby Suicide Bomber' refers to a photo that received wide media attention in 2002 Though the majority of suicide bombers have been male female suicide bombers have carried out a number of attacks since 1985 There have been several documented incidents of Donkeys and Mules being used to deliver bombs. Ḥamas (ar حركة حماس acronym ar حركة المقاومة List of Suicide attacks carried out by Hamas The criteria used for this list deliberate attacks committed by Hamas against civilians using suicide bombers List of Suicide attacks carried out by Palestinian Islamic Jihad The criteria used for this list deliberate attacks committed by Palestinian Islamic Jihad List of Suicide attacks carried out by al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades The criteria used for this list deliberate attacks committed by Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades Channel 4 is a public-service Television and Radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom centred around a television channel of the same name which began Riaz Hassan AM, FASSA is an Australian Research Council Professorial Fellow and Emeritus Professor in the Department of Sociology Flinders University The Atlantic (formerly known as The Atlantic Monthly) is an American Magazine founded in Boston in 1857 Aboutcom is an online source for original information and advice and is among the top 15 US Websites ( Nielsen Online Spring 2008 David Brooks (born August 11, 1961) is a Canadian-American political and cultural commentator The Atlantic (formerly known as The Atlantic Monthly) is an American Magazine founded in Boston in 1857
• An Islamist view of Martyrdom Operations
• The mechanics of a living bomb
• Chronology of suicide bomb attacks by Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka
• How a laser device can detect a suicide bomber's explosives belt or chemical weapons from dozens of meters away - A web article
• short clip showing the victims of Palestinian suicide bombing Warning: Graphic Images
• An examination of the most thoroughly stated 'fatwa' approving of suicide bombing. By Abdassamad Clarke
• Cult of the Suicide Bomber- a television history by ex-CIA agent Robert Baer
• Canadians Against Suicide Bombing Salim Mansur leading member
• Suicide Terrorism: Rationalizing the Irrational
• Concept Wizard - Mideast Conflict presentations Flash, various languages
  • IMAGINE Flash, images of bombings
• Suicide Bombers in Iraq by Mohammed Hafez
• Few Muslims Back Suicide Bombs
• [6] Suicide Killers, by film maker Pierre Rehov
• [7]Pierre Rehov's site
• *Athena Intelligence Advanced Research Network on Insurgency and Terrorism: articles on Suicide Terrorism in the Virtual Library
• Video of suicide attack in Colombo, Attempted assassination of Sri Lankan Minister Douglas Devananda by LTTE

Further reading

• Sadik H. Salim Mansur is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. Mohammed Hafez is the author of The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom. Colombo ( Sinhala:, ˈkoləmbə Tamil: கொழும்பு is the largest city and commercial capital of Sri Lanka. Kathiravelu Nithyananda Devananda (born 1957 in Jaffna, Sri Lanka) popularly known as Douglas Devananda, is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician "LTTE" redirects here For the Led Zeppelin bootleg see Listen to This Eddie. Kassim, Ph. D. "The Role of Religion in the Generation of Suicide Bombers". [8]
• Mohammed Hafez (2007), Suicide Bombers in Iraq: The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom, (Washington, D. Mohammed Hafez is the author of The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom. C. : United States Institute of Peace) ISBN-13: 978-1-601270-04-7
• Hugh Barlow (2007), Dead for Good: Martyrdom and the Rise of the Suicide Bomber. The United States Institute of Peace or USIP, established in 1984, is an independent nonpartisan national institution established and funded by the United States (Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers) ISBN 1-59451-324-4
• Jayawardena, Hemamal. , Forensic Medical Aspects of Terrorist Explosive Attacks (Paperback), Zeilan Press (2007),ISBN 978-09793-62422
• Rex Hudson (2002), Who Becomes a Terrorist and Why: The 1999 Government Report on Profiling Terrorists, Lyons Press, ISBN 1-58574-754-8
• Mia Bloom (2005), Dying to Kill: The Allure of Suicide Terror, Columbia University Press, ISBN 0-231-13320-0
• Robert Pape (2005), Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism, Random House, ISBN 1-4000-6317-5
• Diego Gambetta, Editor (2005), Making Sense of Suicide Missions, OUP, ISBN 0-19-927699-4
• Farhad Khosrokhavar, translated by David Macey (2005), Suicide Bombers: Allah's New Martyrs, Pluto Press, ISBN 0-7453-2283-2
• Martin Kramer. Robert Anthony Pape Jr (born 1960) is an American political scientist known for his work on international security affairs especially Strategic air power Dying to Win The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism (2005 ISBN 1-4000-6317-5 is Robert Pape 's analysis of suicide terrorism from a strategic social and psychological Martin Seth Kramer (b 1954 Washington DC) is an American scholar of the Middle East at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the 1996. Sacrifice and "Self-Martyrdom" in Shi'ite Lebanon.
• Bernard B. Fall. Bernard B Fall ( November 19, 1926 - February 21, 1967) was a prominent War correspondent, Historian, political scientist 1966. Hell in a Very Small Place: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu. Da Capo Press. (References to suicide bombers on pages 352 and 368).
• Rosemarie Skaine (2006), Female suicide bombers, McFarland Publishers, ISBN 0-7864-2615-2
• M. Rosemarie Keller Skaine (born Grand Island Nebraska) is an American author and sociologist Though the majority of suicide bombers have been male female suicide bombers have carried out a number of attacks since 1985 R. Narayan Swamy. 1996. Tigers of Lanka: From Boys to Guerrillas, 2nd Ed. Vijitha Yapa Bookshop (Colombo).
• Dr. Eyad Sarraj. "Why we have become Suicide Bombers". התאבדות
• Gerhart Scheit. 2005. Suicide Attack ISBN 3-924627-87-8 (German)
• Reuter, Christoph trans. Ragg-Kirby, Helena. My Life is a Weapon: A Modern History of Suicide Bombing. Princeton University Press: Princeton, 2004.
• Davis, Joyce M. (2004). Martyrs: Innocence, Vengeance, and Despair in the Middle East. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1-4039-6681-8.