Suicide Bombers

Suicide bombers are lethally violent and often politically motivated suicide attacks and can be carried out by men, women, or children. They are sometimes referred to as sacrifice bombings or homicide bombings, and istishaad in Arabic, meaning “martyrdom.” Individuals carrying out suicide attacks either seek to kill as many people as possible or cause immense destruction to property, or both. Those who serve as suicide bombers and those who plan the use of suicide bombers, despite the claim that suicide bombers are crazy or do not have a clear understanding of what they do, base suicide attacks on a clearly defined logic. Individuals carry out suicide attacks with the expectation that they themselves will be killed in the process. Thus, they sacrifice their lives for ...