Alertness, access control can curb suicide bombings

SUICIDE bombing is becoming the most dreaded form of terrorist attack in many countries. In the February 14 Pulwama attack, a Kashmiri youth owing allegiance to the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) rammed a car laden with explosives into a CRPF convoy, killing 42 jawans. This was perhaps the most terrifying terrorist attack in recent history on the Indian security forces in Jammu & Kashmir, which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of an armed conflict. Though serious breaches of the laid-down security procedures facilitated the terror strike, the emergence of suicide bombing as a means of terror attack has heightened the threat of similar strikes by indigenous Kashmiri militants in future. Suicide bombing was not witnessed in the early days of terrorism in Kashmir and Punjab. The first most daring case of suicide bombing was the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by the LTTE cadre in 1991. Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh was the next victim of suicide terrorism, in August 1995. The first suicide bombing in Kashmir took place in April 1999, in Badami Bagh area, when a Jaish militant launched a suicide attack on the Indian Army’s 15 Corps headquarters.

Suicide bombing first hit the headlines in April 1983, when the terrorist network of Hezbollah attacked the US Embassy in Beirut, and later, in the same year, devastated the US Marine headquarters in Lebanon. The success of the Hezbollah suicide bombing inspired the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) to resort to suicide bombing on a big scale in their suicide operations. The suicide bombers constituted an elite corps and occupied a privileged position in the LTTE. They were separated from the ordinary cadre and kept in isolation. The Tigers were also responsible for the assassination of former Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa. The LTTE’s suicide missions were planned with minute attention to details, and precisely executed with lethal impact. The LTTE cadre had infiltrated Premadasa’s staff and remained inactive for nearly two years before embarking on its deadly mission.

Suicide bombing is an incredibly cost-effective method of terrorist operation. It is very difficult to detect and prevent such attacks as the perpetrators don’t care for their own lives. Experts who have studied the background and psychological profile of suicide bombers in the Middle East found that most of them are young people, fanatical in their outlook and temperament. Family members of many of them had suffered persecution or death at the hands of the minions of the incumbent regime, and they seek to avenge it. Most of them had an orthodox Islamic background.  Recruiters of Hamas (Palestine) not only took into account their fanatical zeal but also clean background (with no involvement in criminal activities) to avoid detection by the Israeli secret service.

In Chechnya, many of the suicide bombers were wives or close relations of Chechen rebels who were killed in action in their decade-long war with Russia. They wanted to avenge the loss of their near and dear ones. The reasons were personal, not religious or political. But the ultimate in suicide bombing took place on September 11, 2001, when a group of young terrorists slammed commercial jets into the World Trade Centre. The terrorists who took part in that attack  were educated, not prototypes of typical suicide bombers.

Suicide bombers pose a serious security hazard. It is very difficult to detect and thwart suicide bombers, who can always spring a surprise. But the task of suicide bombers can be made more difficult and burdensome, and the impact of the strike may be reduced by adopting measures like strict access control, strengthening of verification procedures etc. There should be constant training and drill of the security personnel deployed for the protection of VIPs and other possible targets and sensitive installations. There are instances where the alertness of the security staff has prevented or foiled lethal strikes. Regular briefing and constant simulated exercises are necessary to hone their skills and sharpen their responses. There should also be an upgrade of equipment and weaponry available to the security personnel.

Research in the field has shown that most of the suicide bombing missions are not ‘lone wolf’ operations. These are meticulously planned by a terrorist network. The suicide bombers are trained, motivated and radicalised before being sent on their missions. For organising successful bombing operations, there is a need for extensive underground preparation and coordination. Explosives have to be smuggled and stored properly and safely, for which reliable local support is needed.

In the Pulwama case, the suicide bomber, Ahmed Dar (20), who had gone to Pakistan in the spring of 2018, made a pre-attack video announcing his mission. It is known that suicide bombers routinely make their last testament before a camera, before heading for the ‘tryst with destiny’. It bears emphasis that the JeM’s previous suicide bombers were not Kashmiris. There is growing apprehension that Dar’s example may be followed by other radicalised youths of Kashmir. It may further give an ominous turn to terrorist violence in Kashmir and compound the problems before the security forces.

Earlier, militants had to cross international borders to carry out suicide attacks. Now, local Kashmiris are volunteering for ‘martyrdom’. Protesting youths are professing allegiance to international terrorist outfits like al Qaeda and the Islamic State. Their flags are raised during protest demonstrations, and the bodies of slain victims are wrapped in these flags. In 2018 alone, there were 614 incidents in which 267 militants, 91 security personnel and 38 civilians were killed. The dance of death continues.