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Explosive belt
An explosive belt (also called suicide belt, Bomberpilot Jacket, suicide vest) is an Wikipedia:improvised explosive device, a belt or a vest packed with Wikipedia:explosives and armed with a Wikipedia:detonator, worn by Wikipedia:suicide bombers. Explosive belts are usually packed with Wikipedia:ball bearings, nails, Wikipedia:screws, bolts, and other objects that serve as shrapnel.
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History
The use of the explosive belt or vest originated with, and was perfected by the Tamil separatists of Wikipedia:Sri Lanka called the Wikipedia:Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).[1]
The use of suicidal attacks to inflict damage upon an enemy predates the Wikipedia:Second World War, in which Kamikaze units (suicidal air attacks) and Wikipedia:Kaiten ("living torpedoes") were used to attack Allied forces. Criticism of this military tactic, and the demonization of those who use it as necessarily terrorists because of the tactic itself, is an example of the Pot calling the kettle red.
"Explosive belts" (or vests) are an on-foot version of such attacks.
Description
The explosive belt usually consists of several cylinders filled with explosive (de facto Wikipedia:pipe bombs), or in more sophisticated versions with plates of explosive. The explosive is surrounded by a fragmentation jacket that produces the shrapnel responsible for most of the bomb's lethality, effectively making the jacket a crude, body-worn, Wikipedia:claymore mine. Once the vest is detonated, the explosion resembles an omnidirectional Wikipedia:shotgun blast. The most dangerous and the most widely used shrapnel are Wikipedia:steel Wikipedia:balls 3 to 7 mm in in diameter. Other shrapnel material can be anything of suitable size and hardness, most often nails, screws, nuts, and thick wire. Shrapnel is responsible for about 90% of all casualties caused by this kind of device.
A "loaded" vest may weigh between 5 to 20 kg and may be hidden under thick clothes, usually jackets or snow coats.
There are several explosives in common use in the Wikipedia:Middle East. C-4 (a type of Wikipedia:plastic explosive) is one of the more potent, but also the rarest because it is the most difficult to obtain. Increased crackdowns by the Wikipedia:Palestinian Authority led to the arrest of most skilled explosive makers and made Wikipedia:smuggling more difficult, leading to less common use of Wikipedia:trinitrotoluene(TNT). Its replacement has been the much less stable and more dangerous, but easy to make, Wikipedia:acetone peroxide(TATP), known as Mother of Satan for its instability. This shift led to many casualties among explosive makers as well as nearby civilians, as the clandestine laboratories that produce explosive belts are often located in residential areas, and it is not uncommon to find dozens or even hundreds of kilograms of TATP in a single location during a raid. In some constructions, TATP is used only for the initiator, and the explosive itself is a homemade mixture similar to Wikipedia:Ammonal.
A suicide Wikipedia:vest may cover the entire stomach and usually has shoulder straps.
A common Wikipedia:security drill against suspected suicide bombers is to isolate the suspect to at least 15 m (49ft) away from other people, and ask him to remove his upper clothing (coat, shirt, etc.) in order to see if there is an explosive vest strapped under them. This drill is problematic when dealing with Wikipedia:female suicide bombers. Alternatively, an Wikipedia:infrared detector can be used.
The discovery of remains as well as incidentally unexploded belts or vests can offer Wikipedia:forensic clues to the investigation after the attack.[2]
See also
- Wikipedia:Car bomb
- Wikipedia:Terrorism
- Wikipedia:Suicide attack
- Groups using explosive belts:
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Taming the Tamil Tigers. Federal Bureau of Investigation. fbi.gov. URL accessed on 2009-03-07.
- ↑ AFP/NEWSCORE "Ugandan police find suicide vest, hunts suspects". July 13, 2010, New York Post. Retrieved ?
