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The first recorded suicide bombing came from Christian soldiers during the Crusades to free The Holy City of Jerusalem from the control of Muslim armies. During the Crusades, the Knights Templar destroyed one of their own ships with 140 Christians on board in order to kill 10 times as many Muslims in the opposing fleet.
Even in the Bible a reference is made to a suicide as a means of killing an enemy.
"And Samson said, 'Let me die with the Philistines!' And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life." Book of Judges 16:30, Old Testament.
An early example of suicide bombing occurred during the Belgian Revolution in 1831 - the war between the Dutch and the Belgians - when the Dutch Lt Jan van Speijk blew up his own ship in the harbour of Antwerp to prevent being captured by the Belgians.
He had been ordered to take down his Dutch flag but said: "I would rather blow myself up." He killed dozens of his enemies in the process.
In World War II, Kamikaze pilots acted as human missiles, flying their planes with explosives, directly into US warships.
In the 1950s, Viet Minh "death volunteers" were used against the French colonial army.
Most famously, Palestinian organisations have sent more than 70 suicide bombers on missions against Israeli targets.
The Tamil Tigers are another prolific example, and their Black Tiger unit has committed some 76 suicide bombings since 1987 using more than 240 attackers.
Their victims included former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and many prominent Sri Lankan leaders.
In 1981 the Islamic Dawa Party's suicide bomber attacked the Iraqi embassy in Beirut.
Hezbollah carried out a bombing of the US embassy in April 1983 and the attack on US Marine and French barracks in October 1983 which brought international attention to suicide bombings.
By 1999 Islamic factions such as Hezbollah, the Amal Movement and the Ba'ath Party were all using the method.
The Syrian Social Nationalists were the first to use a female suicide bomber.
In 1986 they had carried out around 50 suicide bombings between them.
Hezbollah was the only one to attack overseas, bombing the Israeli embassy.
In September 11, 2001, terrorists used passenger jets to destroy the towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City.
Still the so-called justification of the suicide attacks is spouted by religious and political leaders.
As Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin said: "Once we have warplanes and missiles, then we can think of changing our means of legitimate self-defence.
"But right now, we can only tackle the fire with our bare hands and sacrifice ourselves."
In modern history, suicide bombings also appeared as a tactic among the Tamil Tiger seperatist group in Sri Lanka.
Women bombers were used to try to force the government to hand over the Tamil area of the country.
In Iraq, insurgents are using the tactic against Western and Iraqi government targets. They are also killing dozens of civilians.
source: http://news.sky.com/story/357924/suicide-bombing-the-first-was-a-christian
Even in the Bible a reference is made to a suicide as a means of killing an enemy.
"And Samson said, 'Let me die with the Philistines!' And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life." Book of Judges 16:30, Old Testament.
An early example of suicide bombing occurred during the Belgian Revolution in 1831 - the war between the Dutch and the Belgians - when the Dutch Lt Jan van Speijk blew up his own ship in the harbour of Antwerp to prevent being captured by the Belgians.
He had been ordered to take down his Dutch flag but said: "I would rather blow myself up." He killed dozens of his enemies in the process.
In World War II, Kamikaze pilots acted as human missiles, flying their planes with explosives, directly into US warships.
In the 1950s, Viet Minh "death volunteers" were used against the French colonial army.
Most famously, Palestinian organisations have sent more than 70 suicide bombers on missions against Israeli targets.
The Tamil Tigers are another prolific example, and their Black Tiger unit has committed some 76 suicide bombings since 1987 using more than 240 attackers.
Their victims included former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and many prominent Sri Lankan leaders.
In 1981 the Islamic Dawa Party's suicide bomber attacked the Iraqi embassy in Beirut.
Hezbollah carried out a bombing of the US embassy in April 1983 and the attack on US Marine and French barracks in October 1983 which brought international attention to suicide bombings.
By 1999 Islamic factions such as Hezbollah, the Amal Movement and the Ba'ath Party were all using the method.
The Syrian Social Nationalists were the first to use a female suicide bomber.
In 1986 they had carried out around 50 suicide bombings between them.
Hezbollah was the only one to attack overseas, bombing the Israeli embassy.
In September 11, 2001, terrorists used passenger jets to destroy the towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City.
Still the so-called justification of the suicide attacks is spouted by religious and political leaders.
As Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin said: "Once we have warplanes and missiles, then we can think of changing our means of legitimate self-defence.
"But right now, we can only tackle the fire with our bare hands and sacrifice ourselves."
In modern history, suicide bombings also appeared as a tactic among the Tamil Tiger seperatist group in Sri Lanka.
Women bombers were used to try to force the government to hand over the Tamil area of the country.
In Iraq, insurgents are using the tactic against Western and Iraqi government targets. They are also killing dozens of civilians.
source: http://news.sky.com/story/357924/suicide-bombing-the-first-was-a-christian
