Car bomb

For other uses, seeCar bomb (disambiguation).

Acar bomb,bus bomb,van bomb,lorry bomb,ortruck bomb,also known as avehicle-borne improvised explosive device(VBIED),is animprovised explosive devicedesigned to be detonated in anautomobileor other vehicles.

The result of a car bombing during theIraq War

Car bombs can be roughly divided into two main categories: those used primarily to kill the occupants of the vehicle (often as anassassination) and those used as a means to kill, injure or damage people and buildings outside the vehicle. The latter type may be parked (the vehicle disguising the bomb and allowing the bomber to get away), or the vehicle might be used to deliver the bomb (often as part of asuicide bombing).

It is commonly used as a weapon ofterrorismorguerrilla warfareto kill people near the blast site or to damage buildings or other property.Car bombs act as their own delivery mechanisms and can carry a relatively large amount ofexplosiveswithout attracting suspicion. In larger vehicles and trucks, weights of around 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) or more have been used, for example, in theOklahoma City bombing.Car bombs are activated in a variety of ways, including opening the vehicle's doors, starting the engine, remote detonation, depressing the accelerator or brake pedals, or simply lighting a fuse or setting a timing device.The gasoline in the vehicle's fuel tank may make the explosion of the bomb more powerful by dispersing and igniting the fuel.

History

Mario Buda'simprovised wagon used in the 1920Wall Street bombingis considered a prototype of the car bomb.

The first non-suicide car bombing "fully conceptualized as a weapon of urban warfare" came January 12, 1947 whenLehi(also known as Stern Gang), aZionistparamilitary organization,bombed the Haifa police station.

In the fall of 2005, there were 140 car bombings happening per month.

Car bombs are preceded by the 16th centuryhellburners,explosive-laden ships which were used to deadly effect by the besiegedDutchforces inAntwerpagainst the besiegingSpanish.Though using a less refined technology, the basic principle of the hellburner is similar to that of the car bomb.

Car bombs would start out with animals such as horses and cows, then it eventually emerged into a car.

The first reported suicide car bombing (and possibly the first suicide bombing) was theBath School bombingsof 1927, where 45 people, including the bomber, were killed and half of a school was destroyed.

Mass-casualty suicide car bombings are predominantly associated with the Middle East, particularly in recent decades. A notable suicide car bombing was the1983 Beirut barracks bombing,when two simultaneous attacks killed 241 U.S. and 58 French peacekeepers. The perpetrator of these attacks has never been positively confirmed. In theLebanese Civil War,an estimated 3,641 car bombs were detonated.The tactic was adopted by Palestinian militant groups such asHamas,FatahandIslamic Jihad,especially during theSecond Intifada (2000–2005).

While not an adaptation of a people-carrying vehicle, the WW2 GermanGoliathremote control mine shares many parallels with a vehicle-basedIED.It approached a target (often a tank or another armoured vehicle) at speed before exploding, destroying itself and the target. It was armoured so that it could not be destroyed en route. However, it was not driven by a person, instead operated by remote control from a safe distance.

Prior to the 20th century, bombs planted in horse carts had been used in assassination plots, notably the unsuccessful "machine infernale"attempt to killNapoleonon 24 December 1800.

The first car bomb may have been the one used for the assassination attempt on Ottoman SultanAbdul Hamid IIin 1905 inIstanbulbyArmenian separatistsin the command ofPapken Siunibelonging to theArmenian Revolutionary Federation.

Car bombing was a significant part of theProvisional Irish Republican Army(PIRA) campaign duringThe TroublesinNorthern Ireland.Dáithí Ó Conaillis credited with introducing the car bomb toNorthern Ireland.Car bombs were also used byUlster loyalistgroups (for example, by theUVFduring theDublin and Monaghan bombings).

PIRA Chief of StaffSeán Mac Stíofáindefines the car bomb as both a tactical and a strategic guerrilla warfare weapon. Strategically, it disrupts the ability of the enemy government to administer the country, and hits simultaneously at the core of its economic structure by means of massive destruction. From a tactical point of view, it ties down a large number of security forces and troops around the main urban areas of the region in conflict.

As a delivery system

Car bomb in Iraq, made up of a number ofartillery shellsconcealed in the back of apickup truck.

Car bombs are effective weapons as they are an easy way to transport a large number of explosives to a target. A car bomb also produces copiousshrapnel,or flying debris, and secondary damage to bystanders and buildings. In recent years, car bombs have become widely used by suicide bombers.

Countermeasures

Defending against a car bomb involves keeping vehicles at a distance from vulnerable targets by usingroadblocksandcheckpoints,Jersey barriers,concrete blocks orbollards,metal barriers,or by hardening buildings to withstand explosions. The entrance toDowning Streetin London has been closed since 1991 in reaction to theProvisional Irish Republican Armycampaign, preventing the public from approachingNumber 10.Where major public roads pass near buildings, road closures may be the only option (thus, for instance, inWashington, D.C.the portion ofPennsylvania Avenueimmediately in front of theWhite Houseis closed to traffic). Historically these tactics have encouraged potential bombers to target"soft" or unprotected targets,such as markets.

Suicide usage

In theIraqiandSyrian Civil War,the car bomb concept was modified so that it could be driven and detonated by a driver but armoured to withstand incoming fire. The vehicle would be driven to its target area, in a similar fashion to akamikazeplane ofWW2.These were known by the acronym SVBIED (from Suicide Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device) or VBIEDs. Ordinary civilian cars were outfitted with armour plating intended to protect the VBIED as it approached its target.Such SVBIEDs were driven into enemy troop areas or incoming enemy columns.Most often, the SVBIEDs were used byISILagainst Government forces, but also used by Syrian rebels (FSAandallied militias,especially theAl-Nusra Front) against government troops.

The vehicles have become more sophisticated, with armour plating on the vehicle, protected vision slits, armour plating over the wheels so they would withstand being shot at and occasionally additionalmetal gratingover the front of the vehicle designed to crush or destroy incomingshaped chargessuch as those used onrocket propelled grenades.

A mock explosion of a pickup truck converted to SVBIED, used byU.S. marinesforOPFORpurposes atCamp Pendleton

Trucks were sometimes used to start an assault, and benefitted from their greater storage space that could contain very heavy explosives.Animal drawn carts, typically pulled by horse or mule, have also been used.Tactically, a single vehicle may be used, or an initial "breakthrough" vehicle, then followed by another vehicle.

While many car bombs are disguised as ordinary vehicles,some that are used against military forces haveimprovised vehicle armourattached to prevent the driver from being shot when attacking a fortified outpost.

Operation

TSAofficers view the post-blast remains of aDodge Neonafter an explosive was detonated inside it during training.

Car bombs and detonators function in a diverse manner of ways and there are numerous variables in the operation and placement of the bomb within the vehicle. Earlier and less advanced car bombs were often wired to the car's ignition system, but this practice is now considered more laborious and less effective than other more recent methods, as it requires a greater amount of work for a system that can often be quite easilydefused.While it is more common nowadays for car bombs to be fixedmagneticallyto the underside of the car, underneath the passenger or driver's seat, or inside of themudguard,detonators triggered by the opening of the vehicle door or by pressure applied to the brakes or accelerating pedals are also used.

Bombs operating by the former method of fixation to the underside of the car more often than not make use of a device called atilt fuse.A small tube made of glass or plastic, the tilt fuse is similar in operation to amercury switchor medical tablet tube. One end of the fuse will be filled withmercury,while the other open end is wired with the ends of an open circuit to an electrical firing system. When the tilt fuse moves or is jerked, the supply of mercury will flow to the top of the tube and close the circuit. Thus, as the vehicle goes through the regular bumping and dipping that comes with driving over a terrain, the circuit is completed, and the explosive is detonated.

Car bombs are effective as booby traps because they also leave very little evidence. When an explosion happens, it is difficult for forensics to find any evidence because things either denigrate or become charred.

As a safety mechanism to protect the bomber, the placer of the bomb may rig atiming deviceincorporated with the circuit to activate the circuit only after a certain time period, therefore ensuring the bomber will not accidentally activate the bomb before they are able to get clear of the blast radius.

Even though right now car bombs are supposed to be stealth weapons that cause a good deal of damage, it is feared that they can become bigger, more lethal weapons such as the size of a trailer, making huge explosions and causing plenty of damage.

Examples

Main article:List of mass car bombings

20th century

• 1920: TheWall Street bombing— Suspected that Italian anarchistMario Buda(a member of the "Galleanists") parked a horse-drawn wagon filled with explosives andshrapnelin theFinancial DistrictofNew York City.The blast killed 38 and wounded 143.
• 1927: TheBath School disaster—Andrew Kehoeused a detonator to ignitedynamiteand hundreds ofpoundsofpyrotolwhich he had secretly planted inside a school. As rescuers started gathering at the school, Kehoe drove up, stopped, and detonated a bomb inside his shrapnel-filled vehicle, killing himself and theschool superintendent,and killing and injuring several others. In total, Kehoe killed 44 people and injured 58 making the Bath School bombing the deadliest act ofmass murderin a school in U.S. history. It is possibly the firstsuicide car bombingin history.
• Militant groupLehiwere the first group to use car bombs in theBritish Mandate for Palestineduring the 1940s.

Vietcongcar bombing aftermath scene inSaigon,1965.

• TheViet Congguerrillas used them throughout theVietnam Warin the 1960s and 1970s.
• TheOASused them at the end of theFrench rule in Algeriain 1961 and 1962.
• TheSicilian Mafiaused them to assassinate independent magistrates starting in the 1960s and up to the early 1990s.
• TheIRAused them frequently during its1960s to 1990s campaignduringthe TroublesinNorthern Irelandand England. The 1998Omagh bombingby theReal IRA,an IRA splinter group, caused the most casualties inthe Troublesfrom a single car bomb.Loyalistorganisations in Northern Ireland of the 1960s and 1970s such as theUlster Volunteer Force(UVF) andUlster Defence Associationused car bombs against civilians in bothNorthern Irelandand theRepublic of Ireland.The 1974 UVF bombs inDublin and Monaghancaused the most casualties in a single day duringthe Troubles.
• Palestinian writerGhassan Kanafaniwas assassinated by a car bomb on 8 July 1972 with his 17-year-old niece Lamees Najim inBeirutby the IsraeliMossad.
• FormerChileanGeneralCarlos Pratswas killed by a car bomb on September 30, 1974, along with his wife.
• Freelance terroristCarlos the Jackalclaimed responsibility for three car bomb attacks on French newspapers accused of pro-Israeli bias during the 1970s.
• ClevelandmobsterDanny Greenefrequently used car bombs against his enemies, beginning in 1968. Afterwards, they also began to be used against Greene and his associates. The use of car bombs in Cleveland peaked in 1976, when 36 bombs exploded in the city, most of them car bombs, causing it to be nicknamed "Bomb City." Several people, including innocent bystanders, were killed or wounded. Greene himself was finally killed in a car bomb explosion himself, on October 6, 1977.
• Agents of the Chilean intelligence agencyDINAwere convicted of using car bombs to assassinateOrlando Letelierin 1976 andCarlos Pratsin 1974, who were exiled opponents of dictatorAugusto Pinochet.Letelier was killed inSheridan Circle,in the heart ofEmbassy RowinWashington, D.C.
• TheTamil TigersofSri Lankafrequently made use of car bombs during that country'scivil warin a campaign which lasted from 1976 until the group's defeat in 2009.
• From 1979 to early 1983, under the guise of theFront for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners,Israel Defense ForcescommandersRafael Eitan,Avigdor Ben-Gal and Meir Dagan launched a campaign of bombings, including car, bicycle, and even donkey bombs. Initially conducted as a response tothe killing of Israeli civilians at Nahariya.Largely indiscriminate in its targeting of those associated with thePalestine Liberation Organizationin south, Lebanon, the FLLF attacks killed hundreds of Palestinians and Lebanese, mainly inTyre, Lebanon,Sidonand the surrounding PLO run refugee camps. After 1981, as part of Ariel Sharon's policy of goading the PLO into committing more acts of terror, justifying a military response, FLLF attacks escalated in intensity and scope, spreading to Beirut and northern Lebanon by September. The FLLF even took credit for fictional attacks on the IDF to maintain its cover as a Lebanese organisation.Its most prominent attack on October 1, 1981, in West Beirut killed at least 50 and injured over 250 people. Seven other similar bombs were found and defused before they could explode.
• The GermanRed Army Factionoccasionally used car bombs, such as in an unsuccessful attempt to attack aNATOschool for officers in 1984.
• The Basque separatist groupEuskadi Ta Askatasuna(ETA) attempted their first car bomb assassination in September 1985 and carried out at least 80 massive car bomb attacks in Spain during the last decade before putting its activities on hold in 2011.
• Constable Angela Taylor died on her way to collect lunch, the sole fatality of theRussell Street bombingin Melbourne, Australia on 27 March 1986. 22 others were injured.
• On 23 November 1986, two members of theArmenian Revolutionary Federationcarried out theMelbourne Turkish consulate bombingusing a car bomb, which resulted in the death of one of the attackers.
• Suicide car bombs were a regular feature against Israel in the1982 Lebanon Warwhich lasted from 1982 until Israel's withdrawal in 2000. The bombing campaign was waged by several groups, most prominentlyHezbollah.
• In the 1980s, the Colombian drug lordPablo Escobarused vehicle bombs extensively against government forces and population centers inColombiaandLatin America.The most notable car bombing attack was the 1989DAS Building bombing,which killed 63 and injured about 1,000. Also, on July 4, 1989, a car bomb killed governor of AntioquiaAntonio Roldán Betancurand five others; a prominent member of Escobar's Medellin Cartel later confessed to the crime.
• During theSoviet–Afghan Warof the 1980s, at a variety of training camps in the tribal areas ofPakistan,the PakistaniInter-Services Intelligence(ISI), with the aid of theUnited States'Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) and Britain'sMI6,trainedmujahideenin the preparation of car bombs. Car bombs became a regular occurrence during the war, the Afghan civil conflicts which followed, and then during theU.S. invasion of Afghanistanfrom 2001 and thewar in Afghanistanending in 2021.
• On 26 February 1993, Islamist terrorists led byRamzi Yousefdetonated a Ryder van filled with explosives in the parking garage of theWorld Trade CenterinNew York City.Yousef's plan had been to cause one of the towers to collapse into the other, destroying both and killing thousands of people. Although this was not achieved, six people were killed, 1,402 others injured, and extensive damage was caused.
• On 18 April 1993, a tanker containing 500 kilograms of explosives exploded near the mosque inVitez,destroying the offices of the Bosnian War Presidency, killing at least six people and injuring 50 others. TheICTYaccepted that this action was a piece of pureterrorismcommitted by elements within theCroatforces, as an attack on the Bosniak population of Stari Vitez -Vitezold town.HVOmembers tied aBosniakmale civilian from a concentration camp to the steering wheel and set the truck in motion towards the old town.
• On 20 October 1994,Hamas-led bus bombing inTel Aviv,Israellead to the death of 22 civilians and the injury of 50. At that time, it was the deadliestsuicide bombinginIsraeli history,and thefirst successful attackin Tel Aviv.
• TheQuebec Biker Warthat lasted from 1994 to 2002 involved the use of car bombings, including one that killed a drug dealer and an 11-year-old boy on 9 August 1995.
• On 19 April 1995,Timothy McVeighdetonated a Ryderbox truckfilled with an explosive mixture ofammonium nitrate fertilizer and fuel oil(ANFO) in front of theAlfred P. Murrah Federal BuildinginOklahoma Cityduring theOklahoma City bombing,killing 168 people, including 19 children who were in the daycare.
• On 25 June 1996, a truck bombdestroyed the Khobar Towers military complexin Saudi Arabia, killing 19United States Air Force(USAF) personnel and injuring 372 persons of all nationalities.
• In the late 1990s and early 2000s, vehicular explosives were used byChechennationalists against targets in Russia.
• On 20 April 1999,Eric Harris and Dylan Kleboldplanned to use two car bombs as the last act of theColumbine High School massacre,apparently to murder first responders. Both failed to explode.

21st century

• On 2 December 2001, aHamasassailant boarded a bus inHaifa, Israel,and then detonated himself, leading tothe death of 15 civilians.
• Southeast Asia-based militant Islamist groupJemaah Islamiyahutilized car bombs in their campaigns during the early 2000s, the most prominent being the2002 Bali bombings,which killed 202 people.
• FormerLebanesePrime MinisterRafic Haririwas assassinated by a car bomb duringValentine's Day of 2005.21 others were also killed.
• A car bomb which had misfiredwas discovered inTimes Square,New York Cityon May 1, 2010. The bomb had been planted byFaisal Shahzad.Evidence suggests that the bombing was planned by thePakistani Taliban.
• On11 December 2010,a car bomb exploded in centralStockholminSweden,slightly injuring two bystanders. Twelve minutes later, an Iraqi-born Swedish citizen accidentally detonated six pipe bombs he was carrying, but only one exploded.The bomber was killed but there were no other casualties. It is believed that the attacks were the work of homegrown terrorists who were protesting Sweden's involvement in the war in Afghanistan and the publication in Sweden of cartoons depictingMuhammad.
• On 22 July 2011, in theNorway massacre,far-right extremistAnders Behring Breivikdetonated a car bomb within theexecutive government quarterofOslo,Norway,killing 8 people.
• In 2013, Afghan security forces intercepted a truck bomb deployed by theHaqqanis.It was the largest truck bomb ever built, with some 61,500 lbs of explosives.It was ultimately defused. The bomb was over 10 times the size of the car bomb used on the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. While the bomb was not detonated, it caused security changes throughout the region and the closure of the US Army base FOB Goode near Gardez.
• During June 2015, inRamadi,Iraq,a vehicle-borneIEDresulted in the collapse of an 8-story tall building during battle between theIraqi militaryandDaesh (ISIS).The Daesh truck bomb was fired upon by arocket-propelled grenadeto detonate it.
• On 30 August 2016, Kurdish female soldier from YPJ,Asia Ramazan Antar,was killed inManbij offensive,when ISIS suicide bombers drove cars filled with explosives towards the Kurdish front.
• On 16 October 2017, Maltese journalist and bloggerDaphne Caruana Galiziadied in a car bomb attack.
• On 25 December 2020, acar bomb was detonatedin downtownNashville, Tennessee,injuring at least 8 and killing the perpetrator, Anthony Quinn Warner.
• On 14 November 2021, acar bomb explodedoutside of a women's hospital inLiverpoolafter a man detonated an IED suicide vest inside a taxi, killing him and severely injuring the driver.
• During theRussian invasion of Ukraine,Ukrainian partisanshave made extensive use of vehicular bomb attacks on Russian and collaborative officials in occupied areas, such as in the2022 Crimean Bridge explosion
• On 20 August 2022,Aleksandr Dugin's daughter,Darya Dugina,was killed inBolshiye Vyazyomy,Moscow Oblastby a bomb placed on Dugin's car.
• In late February 2023, it was reported that theRussian Armyattempted to use aMT-LBfilled withOFAB-100-120aerial bombs and mine-clearing charges from theUR-77vehicle against Ukrainian positions.
• On 18 June 2023, the Russian Army was documented as using aT-55 tankfilled with approximately 6 tons of high explosives against entrenchedUkrainian ForcesnearMarinka,Donetsk Oblastwith the intent of clearing the trenches.
• On 10 September 2023, it was reported that Ukraine's128th Mountain Assault Brigadeconverted a capturedT-62 tankinto a VBIED filled with 1.5 tons of explosives and drove it against Russian positions in theZaporizhzhia region.The tank hit a mine and exploded before it could reach the enemy positions.
• On 13 July 2024,Thomas Matthew Crooksattempted to assassinateDonald Trump,the former president of the United States, at a campaign rally nearButler, Pennsylvania.Crooks attempt was unsuccessful and he was killed in the process. Following his death, investigators found explosive devices in the trunk of his car, suggesting he planned to set off an explosion remotely as a possible distraction.
• On January 1, 2025, at approximately 8:39 a.m. PST, aTesla Cybertruck explodedoutside the main entrance of the Trump International Hotel inLas Vegas.The driver, identified as 37-year-old U.S. Army Special Forces Sergeant Matthew Alan Livelsberger from Colorado Springs, Colorado, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound just before the explosion. Seven bystanders sustained minor injuries from the blast.

Groups that use car bombs

West Asia

• HezbollahmemberImad Mughniyahwas assassinated by a car bomb in Syria in 2008, allegedly byMossad.
• Various Palestinian militant groups such asHamas,Islamic Jihad,Fatah,andvarious opposition Islamist groupsagainst both military and civilianIsraelitargets.
• Al-Qaeda,in attacks around the world since the 1990s, most notably the1998 United States embassy bombings.
• During theU.S.-led war in Afghanistan,theTalibanhave often employed vehicular explosives against enemy targets. This included not only cars and trucks, but evenbicycle bombs.
• Similar toMossad,other organizations associated with theIsraeli governmenthave been known to use car bombs to kill rivals of the Israeli state, including theIsrael Defense Forces(IDF).

A 2005 car bombing in Iraq, in which a second car bomb was detonated whileUS forceswere investigating the scene of an earlier such blast, resulting in 18 casualties.

• TheIraqi insurgency.An estimated 578 car bombs were detonated in Iraq between June 2003 and June 2006.
• TheIslamic State,which has employed armored explosive-ladencrossovers,full-sizedpickup trucks,andSUVsas suicidal tactical units to breach enemy defensive fronts in Syria and Iraq. The use of armored tractors andhaul truckswas also recorded over the course of the war.

Americas

• Although it has never been officially acknowledged, the AmericanCIAhas occasionally been accused of being behind car bombings. One such attack was the failed assassination attempt on Grand AyatollahMohammad Hussein Fadlallahin theBeirut car bombing on 8 March 1985.Although there has been widespread speculation of CIA involvement, this has never been proven conclusively.
• TheJuárez Cartel's armed wing,La Línea,used a car bomb to attack police officers inCiudad Juárez,Mexicoon 15 July 2010.
• TheSinaloa Carteland theGulf Cartelwere blamed for using car bombs inNuevo Laredo,Mexicoon 24 April 2011 to "heat up" the turf ofLos Zetas.

Europe

• Dissident republicansin Northern Ireland used car bombs in the last two decades,the deadliest attack being theOmagh bombingof 1998.
• TheSecurity Service of Ukraineused a car bomb in2022 Crimean Bridge explosion.
• TheSicilian Mafiaused a car bomb in theVia d'Amelio bombing.

South Asia

• Militants and criminals inIndiaoccasionally utilize car bombs in attacks. This includes Muslim,Sikh,KashmiriandNaxalitemilitants, as well as rival politicians within the government andorganized crime.A notable recent attack was the25 August 2003 Mumbai bombings,in which two car bombs killed 54 people. The attack was claimed by the Pakistani-backed Kashmiri separatist groupLashkar-e-Taiba.
• ThePakistani Talibanhave occasionally used car bombs in their ongoing conflict with the government of Pakistan.

See also

• Deaths by car bomb
• Improvised explosive device(IED)
• Insurgency
• Kamikaze
  • Japanese Special Attack Units

References

• Mike Davis,Buda's Wagon: A Brief History of the Car Bomb(Verso: New York, 2007).
• Kaaman, Hugo (April 2019).Car Bombs as Weapons of War ISIS's Development of SVBIEDS, 2014-19(PDF)(Report). Washington, DC: Middle East Institute.Retrieved29 September2023.
• Armistead, Gene C. (28 August 2013).Horses and Mules in the Civil War: A Complete History with a Roster of More Than 700 War Horses.McFarland.ISBN978-1-4766-0237-0.
• Kaaman, Hugo (28 October 2020).Shifting Gears: HTS's Evolving Use of SVBIEDs During the Idlib Offensive of 2019-20(PDF)(Report). Washington, DC: Middle East Institute.Retrieved29 September2023.
• Lepage, Jean-Denis G. G. (18 November 2014).German Military Vehicles of World War II: An Illustrated Guide to Cars, Trucks, Half-Tracks, Motorcycles, Amphibious Vehicles and Others.McFarland.ISBN978-0-7864-6252-0.

External links

• Video of a detected car bomb (VBIED) going off
• A history of the car bomb(Asia Times)
• "Explosive reading", review by Daniel Swift for theFinancial Times