Bomb Attacks Research Articles

Characteristics of Homemade Explosive Materials and the Possibilities of their Identification

Abstract One of the greatest challenges for explosive ordnance disposal operators is the disarming process of an improvised explosive device. These dangerous devices are often made from homemade explosive. Committing a bomb attack in urban areas is a basic weapon of terrorists, which may claim civilians’ lives. The main aim of experts is to avoid any lethal attack and to stop terrorists who endanger our life. Identifying homemade explosives may also help during the fight against terrorism since information may be provided this way, which is essential for professionals who work in the areas of operations. Usage of high-tech equipment provides stable and reliable background in the field of explosives’ analysis.

Consumer drones used in bomb attacks

Terrorist rebels are turning consumer drones into deadly weapons. The article investigates why it goes on and what can be done about it. Hobbyists are having a lot fun modifying drones and they post their tutorials online. Hundreds of them show how to retrofit consumer drones with remote-controlled drop mechanisms to release devices in mid-air. But the hobbyists aren't alone. Inspired by the same logic, rebel groups in battle zones such as Syria, Iraq, Yemen and now Afghanistan, retrofit drones to drop explosives on human targets, spreading fear and feeding a growing propaganda machine. For a credible point defence system, developments in lasers (not necessarily high-powered ones) and high-power microwave (HPM), seem promising. For lasers specifically, the hope is that via tracking of a target drone the laser can then emit hot light to melt inexpensive plastic parts and bring it down. It is concluded that it may not be possible to ensure a 100 per cent hostile-drone-free airspace because it just isn't feasible to have countermeasures everywhere.

Experimental study on residual seismic behavior of UHPCC-FST after near-range explosion

Attributed to the excellent axial bearing capacity, explosion resistance and ductility, ultra-high performance cementitious composite filled steel tubes (UHPCC-FST) have been widely applied in the bridge piers and structural columns. Considering the accidental and terroristic bombing attacks, this paper aims to quantitatively assess the residual seismic behavior of UHPCC-FST specimens after near-range explosion experimentally. Four 1/4 scaled UHPCC-FST cylinder specimens were prepared, they were firstly subjected to the near-range explosion test with the TNT charge weight of 4–10 kg, then the low-frequency cyclic loading test was further performed on the post-blast specimens to examine their residual seismic behaviors. By comparisons with the control specimens only enduring the low-frequency cyclic loadings, it derives that, (i) the post-blast UHPCC-FST specimens suffer both localized and integral bending deformations, which become more obvious with increasing the charge weight; (ii) under the repetitive loadings, the post-blast specimens exhibit normal section bending failure mode, and the fracture location of the specimen body lies at the critical section of the plastic hinge at foot; (iii) the explosion damage leads to an unfavorable influence on the horizontal bearing capacity and secant stiffness of specimens under repetitive loadings, which reduces more obviously with increasing the charge weight; (iv) the overall bending developed by mid-height explosion and the upper layer concrete spalling of the foundation produced by repetitive loading are favorable to ductility improvement of the specimens; (v) weak hinge formed by slight explosion damage can assist plastic hinge of column foot to consume energy and thus efficiently enhance the energy dissipation capacity of specimens.

Do Investors React to Terrorism and Peace in Colombia?

ABSTRACT This paper studies the impact of terrorist attacks on the returns and volatility of Colombian stock returns using an event study methodology in a GARCH model framework. It also investigates the impact of the 2016 peace accord between the Colombian government and the FARC, an army of leftist narco-guerrillas, on the same characteristics of the financial market. Results show that the COLCAP index, a market-capitalization weighted index that includes the 25 most liquid stocks listed in the Colombia’s stock exchange, has a significant negative abnormal return of 0.1% 1 day after a bombing attack occurs, that continues to accumulate down to −0.18% 3 days after. Furthermore, events associated with the peace accord, exhibit a significant positive abnormal return of 0.58% on the event date that continues to accumulate up to 1.02% the day after. In addition, cumulative abnormal volatility (CAV) is statistically insignificant both after terrorist attacks and peace-associated events.

ANALYSIS OF THE BOMBERS’ TACTICS AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF A SERIES OF TERRORIST ATTACKS IN BRUSSELS (22 MARCH 2016)

The purpose of the article is to analyse the modus operandi of the terrorists who on 22 March 2016 organised the bomb attacks in Brussels. The article characterises the targets of the attackers, analyses their operational tactics and the aftermath of their attacks. In addition, the consequences of the attacks are discussed – both economic and legal. Another issue analysed in the article is the perpetrators of the assassinations – their origin, path of radicalisation and network of contacts. The summary shows why returning foreign terrorist fighters are a threat to security in the EU countries, including Poland.

Entangled Memories: Complicating the Memory of Area Bombing Through the Haunted Ruins of Anhalter Bahnhof

This article investigates the possibilities for experiential encounters with ruins in Berlin to complicate the dominant articulations of the cultural memory of Allied bombing attacks on German cities during the Second World War. Building on works that seek to disrupt normative models of cultural memory of the bombings, and entangling them with existing literature that uses new materialism to engage the sensorial nature of memory site-encounters, I examine my own fieldwork visits the ruins of Anhalter Bahnhof—a former train station—as an entanglement of both. Specifically, I investigate how encountering Anhalter through this entangled method allows the site to emerge as haunted. Encountering Anhalter as haunted might complicate the linear temporality that underpins enduring the narrative that the Allies’ actions during the war were completely ethical because they are largely framed as a response to— ergo following—the Holocaust.

Progressive collapse of RC flat slab substructures with unbonded posttensioning strands after the loss of an exterior column

Reinforced Concrete (RC) flat slab structures are mainly composed of load-bearing columns and RC slabs, which are vulnerable to collapse once one or several local load-bearing columns fail due to accidental loads such as terrorist bomb attack or vehicle collision. To investigate the progressive collapse performance of flat slab structures after the loss of an exterior column, static collapse tests were conducted on three 1 × 2 bay RC flat slab substructures. Effect of prestress and layout of the unbonded posttensioning strands (UPSs) on the progressive collapse of flat slab structures was discussed. Experimental results showed that punching shear failure (PSF) foremost occurred at the slab-column connection (SCC) of the failed exterior column during collapse, and then successively occurred at the SCCs close to the corner column and the exterior column adjacent to the failed column. Primary cracks on the top slab surfaces around the failed exterior column generally presented arc-shaped distribution; while primary cracks on the bottom slab surfaces radially propagated from the failed exterior column. Comparing with the flat slab substructure without UPSs in the slabs, the load-bearing capacity of the substructures with UPSs in the slabs significantly improved. Flexural action was the fundamental collapse resistance mechanism in the initial collapse stage, and tensile membrane action gradually formed during collapse. The flexural action, the tensile membrane action, as well as the post-punching behaviors of the slabs resisted the collapse load together before the final collapse occurred. Most of the load applied on the failed exterior column mainly transmitted along the shorter slab bay under the exterior-column-removal scenario. Arranging posttensioning strands in the slabs contributed to reducing vertical deformation of the slabs. The UPSs in the column strip passing through the failed column played a more important role in resisting collapse load than those arranged in the middle strip. The residual flat slab substructures still possessed satisfactory load-carrying capacity even if PSF occurred in one or several SCCs.

Otologic Injuries Secondary to Explosive Attack.

The frequency of injuries secondary to terrorist attack explosion is globally increasing. Like any other country, our country experienced multiple suicide bombings in recent years. Otologic injuries may be observed after these kinds of attacks. Considering otologic complaints are well known medical results of explosion attacks, routine otologic evaluation in the first examining hospital-even in case of no relevant complaint- is crucial for establishing causal relation in following forensic medicine evaluation. In this study, 33 cases from 6 suicide bomber attacks in 4 different incidents that happened in Turkey were evaluated for otologic injuries. Two out of three patients were not evaluated for otologic injuries in their first hospital visit. It was considered that 8 cases had a loss of hearing and 9 cases had tympanic membrane rupture secondary to the explosion. Complaints such as hearing loss and tinnitus very often after a bomb attack, we saw that 22 of 33 included patients did not have an ear nose, and throat examination at the time of the incident. In this kind of attack, there can be various life-threatening injuries and therefore relatively less important evaluations such as ENT examination can often be overlooked.

Сленг ВВС Великобритании. Влияние Первой мировой войны

World War One had an impact not only the development of international relations throughout the 20th century, but also led to the creation of air forces of different countries. More than 30 countries participated in the First World War. The British Empire, which fought on the side of the Entente, was one of them. During the First World War, the importance of the Air Force increased. It played a decisive role in gaining dominance amidst the aerospace. Aviation, which tasks included aerial reconnaissance and bomb attacks, evolved significantly. A huge number of new experimental military equipment have appeared. All of this produced a huge number of military slang terms. In this study, we will examine the slang terms that appeared in the slang of the British Air Force during the First World War, classify them and make a conclusion about the influence of the First World War on the development of military slang terms. During the training of specialists in the linguistic support of military activity, the topic of military slang remains understudied, which is why interpreters have difficulties in translating slang units. Therefore, the studying of this phenomenon can improve the skills of military interpreters and allow them to avoid major mistakes in their professional activity.

Car Bombs and International Humanitarian Law

Car bombs are a form of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) which are often used in armed conflicts as a highly effective and destructive weapon. The Colombian armed conflict is a case in point: Between 2001 and 2009 alone, the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejercito del Pueblo, ‘FARC-EP’) carried out car bomb attacks almost each year, many of which caused major civilian losses. Here we will take a closer look at an attack whose author, a former FARC-EP combatant nicknamed ‘Mata Hari’, received an amnesty from the Amnesty and Pardon Chamber (Sala de Amnistia e Indulto, ‘Amnesty Chamber’) of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (Jurisdiccion Especial para la Paz, JEP).

Emergency service experience following the terrorist attack in Mogadishu, 14 October 2017, a scene of lay rescuer triage.

A suicide bomber attack occurred in Somalia's capital city of Mogadishu on October 14, 2017. Over 500 people died, making it the third largest suicide bombing attack in world history. In this study, we aimed to share our experience and to discuss the importance of triage and prehospital care systems. These retrospective data included data from patients who suffered from severe explosions. Patient triage was performed using the START (Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment) triage algorithm at the entrance of the hospital. The patients included in the study were classified according to their age, sex, triage code, location of their major injury, department to which they were admitted, and discharge and/or exit status. The patients included 188 (74.6%) males, and the mean age was 30.94±12.23years (range, 1-80years). Eighty-six (34.1%) patients were marked with a red code indicating major injury, and 138 (54.8%) patients had superficial injuries. A total of 173 (68.7%) patients were managed in the emergency department (ED), and 7 (2.8%) patients died in the first 24h. Multiple trauma injuries were detected in 43 (17.1%) patients, and 31 (12.3%) patients were admitted to the orthopedics department. Disaster management in a terrorist event requires rapid transport, appropriate triage, effective surgical approaches, and specific postoperative care. In this event, almost all patients were brought to the ED by lay rescuers. Appropriate triage algorithms for the public can be designed; for instance, green code: walking patient; yellow code: patient who is moving and asking for help; red code: unmoving or less mobile patient who is breathing; black code: nonbreathing patient.

UK healthcare staff experiences and perceptions of a mass casualty terrorist incident response: a mixed-methods study

IntroductionSystem learning from major incidents is a crucial element of improving preparedness for response to any future incidents. Sharing good practice and limitations stimulates further actions to improve preparedness and...

Blast-Induced Traumatic Brain Injuries: Experience from the Deadliest Double Suicide Bombing Attack in Iraq

Blast-induced traumatic brain injuries (bTBIs) are increasingly frequent in civilian settings. We present the first study of individuals with bTBI in Iraq. The study focuses on one of the deadliest suicide car bomb attacks in Iraq and uses it to show the devastating nature of bTBIs. This study was conducted at the Neurosurgery Teaching Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. A retrospective chart analysis of patients with bTBI admitted to the Neurosurgery Teaching Hospital was performed. Measured parameters included patients' demographics, initial presentation, injury patterns, hospital course, surgical management, and outcomes. A total of 75 patients with bTBI were included in this study, 19 of whom died in the emergency room. The remaining 56 patients were admitted to the hospital. Of those patients, 68.6% (n = 39) underwent surgery, and 30.4% were managed conservatively. A modified, tailored triaging system was implemented. All surgery was guided by the principles of damage control neurosurgery. In addition, 76.9% and 46.2% of patients underwent corticectomy and decompressive craniectomy, respectively. Dural venous sinus repair was performed in 17.9% of patients, and 30.7% of the operations entailed additional steps to control major (arterial) cerebrovascular bleeding. The net bTBI-related complication rate was 76%. The total mortality was 48%. Of survivors, 10.7% (n = 8) were discharged with a severe disability. Overall, good outcomes were achieved in 41.3% of the patients. This study sheds light on the devastating nature of bTBIs. Neurosurgeons worldwide need to be mindful of the unique triaging, diagnostic, and management requirements of these injuries.

Upaya Preventif terhadap Konflik Masyarakat dalam Perspektif Ali Jum’ah

The Arab Spring is an interesting discussion for researchers to study. Starting with the fall of Tunisia, then Egypt, and Libya, then came the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which later changed its name to the Islamic State (IS) in order to attract followers from all over the world. Such slander is not only happening in the Middle East. In Europe, precisely in France there was a bomb attack on Friday, 13 November 2015. In 2019, Brenton Tarrant killed 51 people and injured 40 people in two mosques in New Zealand. Furthermore, there was a recent bomb attack in front of the Makassar Cathedral Church on Sunday, March 28, 2021. The current study employs a library research method. The primary sources were taken from the Qur'an, the Kutub Al-Sittah (the six books), and from the works of Ali Jum'ah. Meanwhile, the secondary sources were taken from the books of tafsir and the syurūh of hadith. The results of this study revealed that in Ali Jum'ah's perspective, there are three preventive attempts to be used against slander. One of which is to imagine the Prophet as our father. According to Ali Jum'ah, by imagining Rasulullah as a father, then we are likely to feel his presence all day and night. The second attempt is to always remember Allah (through dhikr). Ali refers to the opinion of al-Ṣan'āny which states that the term dhikr here refers to verbal dhikr. Al-Ṣan'āny adds if one recites the verbal dhikr while also doing it in their heart, then it will become more perfect. The third attempt is to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong. The measuring instrument for knowing al-haqq (truth) and bāṭil (falsehood) refers to thoughts, not a person. Meanwhile, to know what is true and false, one must refer to kitābullah (The Book of Allah).

Analysis of Selected Assets against the Extraordinary Loads

The current security situation in the world creates pressure to improve the pro-tection of critical infrastructure assets against negative events, such as bomb attacks, industrial accidents, explosions, or fire. The research at the Faculty of Security Engineer-ing is focusing on such extraordinary loads. The present paper analyses selected assets against extraordinary load and describes their experimental testing.

Stochastic games for power grid coordinated defence against coordinated attacks

As the worst-case interacting false data to the power system state estimation (SE), cyber data attacks can avoid being filtered out by most bad data detectors. In this study, coordinated attacks (unobservable attack and logic bomb attack) and coordinated defences (honeypot and weakening vision) are used to analyse attackers’ and defenders’ behaviours, respectively. To quantify the potential physical influences (attack-and-defence) benefits, the residual of the expected state is devised. Subsequently, a zero-sum stochastic game is utilised to model the interaction between the cyber-physical power system and the external attack-and-defence actions. This game is demonstrated to admit a Nash equilibrium and the minimax Q-learning algorithm is introduced to enable the two players to reach their equilibrium strategies while maximising their respective minimum rewards in a sequence of stages. Numerous simulations of the stochastic game model on the IEEE 14-bus system show that while resisting the isolated or coordinated attacks, the optimal coordinated defences are more effective than those of isolated attacks.

AN ANALYSIS OF JOKOWI’S POLICY IN REFUSING THE RETURN OF FORMER ISIS FOREIGN TERRORIST FIGHTERS INDONESIAN CITIZENS

Industry 4.0 which is supported by the concept of the internet of think has influenced the pattern of indoctrination of radical-terrorism groups. Based on the results of the study, after the declaration until the collapse of the Islamic State of Iran and Syria (ISIS) there were at least 689 foreign terrorist fighters who came from Indonesia and hoped to be repatriated to the country. However, because of security considerations, President Joko Widodo firmly refused. To address this issue, the author conducts normative-empirical legal research using library research methods. The results showed that Indonesian citizens involved in organized international crimes such as ISIS can be banned from returning to Indonesia on a legal basis using Article 98 Paragraph 1 of Law No. 6 of 2011 concerning Immigration and Article 263 Paragraph 2 letter (a) Government Regulation No. 21 of 2013 concerning Regulations for Implementing the Immigration Law. Besides, terrorist sleep cells of ISIS in the country can at any time carry out suicide bomb attacks as a signal given by their group. As an ideological network, these terrorism sleep cells are clandestine and begin to involve women and children as suicide bombers. Keywords: Foreign Terrorist Fighter; Terrorism; ISIS.

Innovative protection of urban areas – Experimental research on the blast mitigating potential of hedges

The increasing threat of terrorist attacks requires the protection of urban spaces. The protective function of currently available protection systems is often clearly visible, which can even increase the perceived threat. This is acceptable for temporary solutions, but in the long run it contradicts the idea of a modern and open society. For continuous use, new solutions should be considered that are not perceived as protective elements and unfold their protective potential inconspicuously. This includes elements of street furniture and landscape architecture. This paper addresses theoretical and experimental investigations on the protective potential of plants against blast loads. The aim of the study presented here was to quantify this protective potential for selected needle and leaf plants and to identify the decisive parameters that contribute to the pressure reduction in the event of an explosion. The results of the free-field explosion studies show that plants with certain properties can reduce the overpressure of blast waves by more than 40% compared to an unimpeded propagation. All examined plants achieved significant overpressure reductions in the close range behind the hedges. Especially thujens and yew trees reduced the peak overpressure by 39% to 45%. Furthermore, two numerical methods have been developed and successfully applied, with which the volume of the plants can be determined on the basis of point clouds from terrestrial laser scans. The two methods allow a mutual validation of the results. Thus, it is possible to prove a direct relationship between the growth density and the reduction of the peak overpressure by the plants. These results shall enable urban planners, landscape architects and engineers to specifically integrate plants into future protection concepts and enhance the resilience of urban areas in case of bomb attacks.

More Angry than Scared? A Study of Public Reactions to the Manchester Arena and London Bridge Terror Attacks of 2017

Although public reaction to disaster has been the subject of much research, reactions to acts of terrorism have been studied less, sustaining a common assumption that fear is the generic response. The present paper tests this assumption through a survey of reactions to the Manchester Arena bombing and London Bridge attack of 2017, and the findings suggest that an important likely additional modal citizen reaction to such events is one of anger at the perpetrators, holding important implications for public policy and security practice in the wake of such acts.

Structural performance of a wood-sand-wood wall for blast protection

In recent years, a noticeable increase in the number of suicide bombing attacks has been noticed. These incidents have targeted civilians and civil infrastructure leaving numerous victims and huge losses in property. Residential complexes and commercial buildings are generally not designed to resist abnormal loads such as explosions. Blast wall systems, also known blast barriers, have been required to mitigate the destructive effects of blast wave in regions where they are most likely to occur. The present study considers the response of a wood-sand-wood (WSaW) blast wall as an example of low-cost blast walls made of readily available materials that can be installed with minimal effort to be used around individuals houses when threat of terrorist attacks is probable. The performance of this WSaW blast wall under blast loading was evaluated experimentally. An open-space blast test was conducted to measure the distribution of blast pressure around/behind the WSaW wall as well as its response. The test results were compared with the results of finite element simulations. The WSaW wall showed significant promise in mitigating the blast wave energy. This study recommends further exploration of WSaW blast walls to potentially reduce casualties and losses in properties in different attack scenarios. Moreover, it is important to draw the attention of researchers and designers to start investigating the performance of simple blast walls made of other readily available materials since it is an urgent need in most areas threatened by terrorism.