Source: Emergency Mailing List
“I have been combing through some Israeli websites in order to conjure up points that can make up as an immature guide towards surviving and dealing with suicide attacks, that are a ‘reality’ in our every day life. “
Who is a suicide bomber?
As of now, there are three sorts of suicide bombings taking place in Pakistan.
a. Sectarian
b. FATA militants
c. Foreign backed militants with interests different than those in our tribal areas - but with the same area of origin.
2. Top Targets
a. Security Personnel
b. Military / Police / Security / Intelligence related installations [do keep in mind, that these might include buildings which we - civilians - otherwise might not know are being used for such purposes]
c. Mosques with declared sectarian affiliations.
d. Army Schools / Colleges / Universities
e. Hospitals
3. How do suicide bombers attack?
A suicide bomber will typically place himself and his deadly payload wherever he thinks he will kill the most people.
A single suicide bomber can carry enough explosive on his body to kill or gravely wound everyone in a mosque or checkpoint or group of people. In addition to the explosives, they’re usually wearing ball bearings, shotgun pellets or sharpenels of other sort - in order to increase their kill range which usually ranges from about 50-100 feet depending upon the type of explosive and pellets used. The range at which the pellets might injure you is far higher than that; from 200 - 400 feet.
4. Deterrence
Though suicide bombers can be deadly, we cannot be scared away from crowded, public areas. In a high-risk area, you can take four easy steps to increase your chances of survival:
a. Avoid the bomber’s likely target spots:
As described above, a suicide bomber will most likely strike a crowded public area like a market, hospital, mosque, train station or a mall at the place with the densest concentration of people, particularly if the crowd is close to an entrance or exit. If leaving or entering a crowded building, let crowds dissipate before you approach.
b. Protect yourself from an explosion:
Most injuries from a bomb blast are caused by a pressure wave. The power of this wave decreases exponentially with distance: just a few feet from the suicide bomber’s target—most likely a crowd or an entrance—can make a fateful difference.
Use built-in “shields” and avoid built-in projectiles. In a high-risk area, try to position yourself so that obstructions like support columns or kiosks are between you and the suicide bomber’s likely target (the largest crowd or the entrance.) These objects deflect flying shrapnel and a bomb’s deadly pressure wave. Conversely, try to position yourself away from large expanses of glass– as flying glass is a serious threat.
Don’t stand within an arm’s length of walls. Flying shrapnel and a bomb’s pressure-blast do not deflect off walls at sharp angles like a tennis ball. Instead, they travel along walls like a wave. When a bomb explodes, pressure will gather along the walls with magnified force and ‘roll’ along the wall. If you are in a potential target area, try not to stand within an arm’s length of walls. An explosion could contain or generate projectiles, and walls could deflect these mini-missiles in your direction.
4. How to identify a suicide bomber
An overwhelming majority of suicide bombers conducting such acts in Pakistan are extremely young. Their average age is between 15 to 22 year olds.
a. A bomber carrying explosives on his body will require a jacket or bulky shirt for disguise and may appear artificially overweight. Be suspicious if you see someone wearing a winter jacket on a hot day. A bomber could also carry explosives in a bag or suitcase, and will often clutch it to his or her chests just before detonation.
Do keep in mind that these days, suicide bombers in Pakistan have started exchanging suicide vests for suicide underwear [the bomber involved in the recent bombing in Lahore, was wearing explosives on his groin - lower abdomen]
b. Many suicide bombers work in teams of two. On final approach to the target site, the bomber will be accompanied by another terrorist to give the bomber mental support and help him or her pick the actual target spot. The partner will leave before the detonation.
In video review of Israeli suicide bombings, a large percentage of the bombers appeared to be apprehensive and agitated as they neared detonation. Many were sweaty and moving furtively.
Bombers in Israel have begun sewing explosives into their jackets. Therefore a suicide bomber may wear a jacket that appears to have unusual stitching or cinching.
Evidence of wires or electric switches connected to (our hanging from) clothes or packages is reason to evacuate immediately and contact authorities.
5. Disarm / Disable a suicide bomber
It is not unrealistic to assume civilians will be faced with the specter of stopping and disarming a suicide-terrorist.
Now it might sound heroic but if there is no way out of the situation [with a 50-200 feet kill range, this might be your only chance at surviving] - though you will be putting your life at risk - what better way can there be then by saving some lives?
If you are confronted with someone who appears to be a suicide bomber, your goal should be to prevent him/her from entering a target area containing a large group of people. Your first concern should be to isolate and control the bomber’s hands. .
The Israeli defense services have discovered an effective method to disarm a suicide bomber if—as a last ditch effort—they must physically grapple with one. If your legs are pulled from under you from behind, it is a human reflex to push your arms forward to break your fall. A suicide bomber generally needs to use his hands to detonate his explosive. If he is pulled to the floor from behind, his hands are likely to be momentarily removed from his triggering devices.
If you have disarmed a suicide bomber, or ever come upon an explosive, never touch the bomb or attempt to move it. Bombs can be built to self-detonate if moved. Instantly evacuate the area and leave the explosives for the bomb squad.
6. SURVIVE
After a suicide bomber has struck, what do you do to ensure your safety? Here are the two steps to ensure that you rapidly make the right decisions.
a. First
If a bomb explodes, immediately expect another. Get as low as possible to avoid debris and smoke, and seek shelter. Get yourself and anyone you can to an exit and get out.
b. Second
Beware of building collapse. Once you have made it out of the area, get away from any structures that could collapse from the first blast, or any other bombings that could follow.
7. If you are injured, covered in debris or hidden from sight:
a. If you can elevate bleeding limbs above your heart or compress the bleeding, do so. Otherwise, move as little as possible to prevent further injury and to avoid kicking up dust, which can hinder breathing.
b. If you are covered or out of view, try to remain calm. Struggling may aggravate your injuries. Unless you must, do not waste energy yelling, because this may cause you to inhale harmful dust and vapors. Instead, clap or tap on something.
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4 responses so far ↓
1 oal // Aug 30, 2008 at 6:24 am
From observation, especially out of Somalia, there may be one or two additional considerations for any caught in the vicinity of a suicide or roadside detonation.
First, anyone not assumed or confirmed secure by the context and location of a bombing may become the target of immediate retributive military or police suspicion and action, including as casualty by summary execution or as a casualty of armed “blowback”–i.e., a stung patrol spraying down an area with bullets. As much has been associated with small bombings in Somalia, especially with the Ethiopian army on the receiving end of initial attacks; one may hope that Pakistan’s disciplined and native defense force better maintains its professional composure, come what may.
I suspect the more violent the area in which an attack takes places, the more uncertain the reaction of government forces to it. Of such dynamics are refugees made.
While hopeful tactical advice may be helpful, the development of an attack is shielded by complex private relationships that obtain and move materials and personnal along in what is equivalent to a manufacturing pipeline, creating a modality that while prompting the usual detective or investigative work may also afford many windows on the assembly line that may in turn become more visible, even obvious, with time. The above article touches on the look of the package: what if it could describe the look of the process?
2 readinglord // Aug 30, 2008 at 7:47 am
I wonder why they don’t think that why at all people become suicide bombers, especially the young ones at that, when they can inflict a lot of damage by much less risk of life by using alternate methods like remote controlled bombs, hand grenades, etc.. The fact, however, is that they have made every body a suspect and in fear of death by a blast at the same time. What better method is to create a chaos in the society already devoid of law and order but maintaining huge armies to guard against any ‘meily aankh’ (a malicious look) by the suspected ‘enemies’.
3 oal // Aug 30, 2008 at 8:55 am
Conspiracy-minded “double stories” deflect responsibility; looks don’t mean much, not compared to arms deliveries, the movements of men at night, the dissimulations of a few.
The best method for creating chaos is for all to quit claim to every sort of action, leaving the weaving of stories for every bad and real thing to conjecture, imagination, prejudice. Just about any day in the life of Mogadishu might suffice for demonstration.
4 Arooj // Aug 30, 2008 at 6:11 pm
This article is very informative and somehow can help out to reduce chances of life losses during suicide attacks. I wish these preventions should publish commonly in national newspapers and TV channels to avoid more injuries and death rate during incidents. Long live Pakistan.
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