Suicide attack
A suicide bomber is a person who straps explosives to his body and detonates them in a crowded place, combining the heinous sins of suicide and mass murder.
The typical suicide bomber is a young man, although in a few cases women[1] or teenagers have been goaded into doing this (see honor killing). Sometimes the suicide bomber drives a truck or other vehicle containing a more deadly load of explosives. Airplanes have been used (see Kamikaze & 9/11).
In a hideous variation of this crime, adults reportedly strapped live grenades onto a child's body and sent him into a G.I. bar in Viet Nam, knowing that lonely American men being fond of children would be unlikely to be suspicious of a child.
The kamikaze were Japanese pilots who flew their planes into Allied naval vessels in World War II as a human substitute for guided missiles.
The term kamikaze is derived from the Japanese name for the hurricanes that drove back the Mongol invaders; meaning "divine wind" or "wind of the gods".
Notes
- â About 30% of the suicide operations in Sri Lanka have been conducted by women. Suicide terrorism: a global threat - Jane's Intelligence Review