Understanding the rising cult of the suicide bomber
Although suicide attacks have been carried out for hundreds of years, suicide bombings have only been a permanent feature of conflicts since the 1980s. In recent years, though, their use has dramatically escalated. AOAV, which collects data on explosive violence, has recorded a total of 1,191 suicide bombings globally between 2011 and 2015, resulting in 31,477 civilian deaths and injuries.
The vast majority of suicide bombings within these years have been carried out by international Salafi-Jihadi terrorist organisations.
In light of this, AOAV’s extensive report Understanding the rising cult of the suicide bomber investigates what makes individuals give their lives, and take others, for causes propagated by these transnational terrorist groups.
It also looks at what effect such attacks have had on local and regional conflicts, as well as on the communities exposed to them.
Furthermore, the report proposes how states and other actors in the international community might seek to prevent their use and further escalation based on the reports’ findings.
The report is based on extensive field-work, as well as a thorough mapping and investigation of specific suicide bombings and the individuals that perpetrated them.
Below you can find each section of the report in chronological order. To read the report as a whole, please click here.
Introduction
A brief history of SIEDs
Types of SIEDs
SIEDs as a strategic weapon
Suicide bombings and martyrdom in Islam
Spinning suicide: a look at IS media operations
Does the cult work? The wills of suicide bombers
SIEDs in the context of International Law
Social drivers of suicide bombing
Economic drivers of suicide bombing
Psychological drivers of suicide bombing
Stemming the tide- Combatting suicide bombing
Current threat zones – Iraq
Current threat zones – Syria
Current threat zones – Nigeria
Current threat zones – Af-Pak region
Current threat zones – Saudi Arabia
Current threat zones – Yemen
Current threat zones – Tunisia
Current threat zones – Europe
Recruitment
Looking ahead
Conclusions
Preventative measures
Appendix 1 – Individual case studies
Appendix 2 – Suicide bombers from Europe (Brussels attacks)
Appendix 3 – Suicide bombers from Europe (Paris attacks) –
Appendix 4 – Suicide bombers from Europe (Others)
Appendix 5 – Suicide bombers from Europe (UK)
Appendix 6 – Suicide bombers in Syria and Iraq
Appendix 7 – Transcripts of the wills of Syrian Suicide Bombers
Appendix 8 – Transcripts of the wills of Iraqi Suicide Bombers
Appendix 9 – Yemeni suicide bombers
Appendix 10 – Tunisian suicide bombers
Editor:
Iain Overton
Researchers:
Aman Bezreh
Chris Hitchcock
Jacob Berntson
Jen Wilton
Jennifer Dathan
Khalil Dewan
Leyla Slama
Michael Hart
Namir Shabibi
Shaza Alsalmoni
Sophie Akram
Tim Hulse
This research was undertaken with assistance from the NATO Counter-IED Centre of Excellence.