This handbook is one in a series of supplements to TRADOC DCSINT Handbook No. 1, A Military Guide to Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century, which is a basic terrorism primer prepared under the direction of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence-Threats. The terrorist threat confronting our military spans foreign and domestic threats of nation-states, rogue states with international or transnational agent demonstrations, and actors with specific strategies, tactics, and targets. A major tactic used by many terrorist groups is the use of suicide attacks. Although suicide terrorism is covered in the capstone terrorism handbook, this supplement provides more detail and insight.
Purpose. This informational document supplements the basic terrorism handbook and supports operational missions, institutional training, and professional military education for U.S. military forces in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). This document provides an introduction to suicide terrorism, and addresses the history of the phenomena, how terrorist organizations recruit potential suicide bombers, motivations for use of suicide, characteristics of suicide bombers, various weapons and TTPs used by suicide bombers, and finally, the specific threats to the military.
