Backpack bomber

Backpack bomber is a term coined in the BBC's coverage of the terrorist attacks in London on July 7, 2005 , and describes terrorists who transport explosives to the crime scene in a backpack , suitcase , trolley or other piece of luggage.

Based on this, the perpetrators of the attempted bomb attacks on two trains in North Rhine-Westphalia on July 31, 2006 became known in the German media as suitcase bombers .

Backpack bombers carry out their attacks as suicide bombers or detonate the discarded explosive device with the help of a time fuse or remotely , for example via cell phone . Targets are primarily so-called “ soft targets ”, that is, passenger transport ( bus , subway , train ) and public spaces, or hotel foyers and restaurants.

Because many travelers transport luggage, the explosives can be disguised as inconspicuous pieces of luggage. At the same time, many people are killed or injured in an explosion in a full bus or train .

Backpack bomber assassination examples:

• Terrorist attacks on March 11, 2004 in Madrid (191 dead, 2,051 injured)
• Terrorist attacks on July 7, 2005 in London (56 dead, over 700 injured)
• Attempted terrorist attacks on July 21, 2005 in London
• Terrorist attacks on July 11, 2006 in Mumbai (207 dead, 714 injured)
• Attempted terrorist attacks on July 31, 2006 in Germany
• Attack on the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013 (3 dead, 264 injured)
• Attack in Ansbach on July 24, 2016 (1 dead, 12 injured)

In the 1980s and 1990s, the term “backpack bomb ” was used for atomic bombs with a relatively small explosive power .

See also

• List of explosive attacks

Movie and movie quotes

• In 1952 the English film The Bomb in the Underground Shaft advanced decades ahead of the term . The film is about an imaginary attack by the IRA on the London Underground in 1941. The attack in the film was carried out with a time bomb in a suitcase.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ E.g. Michael Bauer: Terrorism - Threat Scenarios and Defense Strategies. Current analyzes No. 30 of the Hanns Seidel Foundation (2002) , pp. 14-17. There it says in the introduction: So-called “mini nukes” (small nuclear weapons) also seem particularly suitable for terrorist purposes. B. ICBMs - not subject to central control, but can be ignited independently and z. T. can also be easily transported. Since a nuclear chain reaction occurs when such a bomb is ignited, its destructive power is also many times greater than that of a radiological weapon. All sorts of rumors are spinning about so-called backpack bombs from stocks of the former Soviet Union. ( PDF ; 202 kB)