Al-Shabaab’s Assassinations: Investigating the Uniqueness of Al-Shabaab’s Assassinations via Suicide Bombing

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the study of terrorism, assassinations and suicide bombings have most commonly been considered as distinct phenomena. In practice, however, Al-Shabaab has shown a proclivity to use suicide bombings precisely as a means of assassination. But just how unique – if at all – is its use of suicide bombing assassinations (SBAs)? Using three unique databases on African suicide bombing combined with data from the Global Terrorism Database, this article seeks to understand the degree of uniqueness of Al-Shabaab’s SBA efforts from 2006 to 2020. In comparing Al-Shabaab to its nearest analogues – Boko Haram and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) – across five different SBA metrics, this article demonstrates how Al-Shabaab is indeed rightly considered to be unique in its tendency to use suicide bombings as a tool for assassinations, at least on the African continent. It concludes by considering just what rationales underlie this proclivity, focusing on group-specific and environmental factors.