Car bomb

A car bomb is a bomb that is placed in a car or truck and is intended to be exploded while there. This kind of bomb is a favorite instrument of terrorists, guerrillas and assassins because the car bomb acts as its own delivery mechanism and can carry a relatively large amount of explosive without attracting suspicion. Truck bombs are also popular -- trucks can crash through barriers more easily and can hold a great deal more explosives. Timothy McVeigh infamously bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City with a Ryder truck filled with ammonia / fertilizer explosive. Motorcycle and even bicycle bombs have also been used.

Suicide car-bombers typically employ one or more suicide bombers to ram the car into a building and simultaneously detonate it. In assassination attempts, it is more common for the bomb to be affixed to the underside of the car and then detonated remotely, by the car's motion, or other means. The bomb explodes as the target approaches or starts the vehicle or, more commonly, after starting into motion and when the target is more likely to be inside. For this reason, guards often check the underside of vehicles with a long mirror mounted on a pole.

Defending against a car bomb involves keeping cars at distance from buildings, often using Jersey barriers or similar devices, and hardening buildings to withstand an explosion.

The U.S. military often calls the vehicle used in such an attack a VBIED, an acronym standing for Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device.

Contents

Mass car bombings (by date)

2000s

WhenWhereDeathsType
May 11, 2005 Tikrit, Iraq 38 car bomb
May 6, 2005 Suwayrah, Iraq 31 car bomb
February 28, 2005 Hilla, Iraq 125 car bomb
February 14, 2005 Beirut, Lebanon 21 car bomb
December 19, 2004 Karbala and Najaf, Iraq 67 car bombs (2)
November 6, 2004 Samarra, Iraq 30 car bombs (4)
October 7, 2004 Hilton Hotel, Taba, Egypt 31 truck bomb
October 7, 2004 Multan, Pakistan 40 car bomb
September 30, 2004 Baghdad, Iraq 41 car bombs (3)
September 18, 2004 Kirkuk, Iraq 23 car bomb
September 14, 2004 Police station, Baghdad, Iraq 47 car bomb
September 9, 2004 Australian Embassy, Jakarta, Indonesia 9 car bomb
September 4, 2004 Police academy, Kirkuk, Iraq 20 car bomb
July 28, 2004 Police station, Baquba, Iraq 70 mini-bus bomb
June 26, 2004 Hilla, Iraq 23 car bombs (2)
June 24, 2004 Police stations, Mosul, Iraq 62 car bombs (5)
June 17, 2004 Iraqi army recruitment center, Baghdad, Iraq 35 car bomb
April 21, 2004 Police stations, Basra, Iraq 74 car bombs (4)
February 11, 2004 Iraqi Army facility, Baghdad, Iraq 47 car bomb
February 10, 2004 Police Station, Iskandariya, Iraq 53 truck bomb
January 18, 2004 Coalition Headquarters, Baghdad, Iraq 31 truck bomb
December 31, 2003 Restaurant, Baghdad, Iraq 8 car bomb
December 27, 2003 Coalition targets, Karbala, Iraq 19 car bombs (4)
December 25, 2003 Islamabad, Pakistan 14 truck bombs
December 14, 2003 Police station, Khaldiyah, Iraq 20 car bomb
November 20, 2003 British targets, Istanbul, Turkey 32 truck bombs
November 15, 2003 Two synagogues, Istanbul, Turkey 31 truck bombs
November 12, 2003 Italian Military HQ in Nasiriyah, Iraq 33 truck bomb
November 8, 2003 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 18 truck bomb
October 27, 2003 Baghdad, Iraq 35 car bombs (4)
October 12, 2003 Baghdad Hotel, Baghdad, Iraq 6 car bomb
October 9, 2003 Police station, Baghdad, Iraq 9 car bomb
August 29, 2003 Mosque, Najaf, Iraq 85 car bomb
August 25, 2003 Mumbai, India 52 car bombs (2)
August 19, 2003 United Nations Headquarters, Baghdad, Iraq 22 truck bomb
August 7, 2003 Jordanian Embassy, Baghdad, Iraq 19 truck bomb
August 5, 2003 Marriot Hotel, Jakarta, Indonesia 12 car bomb
August 1, 2003 Mozdok, Russia 50 truck bomb
May 12, 2003 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 35 car bombs (4)
May 12, 2003 Znamenskoye, Chechnya 59 truck bomb
February 10, 2003 Bogotá, Colombia 36 car bomb
December 27, 2002 Government Buildings, Grozny, Chechnya 72 truck bombs
November 28, 2002 Hotel in Mombasa, Kenya 13 car bomb
October 21, 2002 Bus near Hadera, Israel 14 car bomb
October 12, 2002 Bali, Indonesia 202 car bomb
September 5, 2002 Kabul, Afghanistan 30 car bomb
June 14, 2002 US Consulate, Karachi, Pakistan 12 truck bomb
June 5, 2002 Bus, Megiddo Junction, Israel 17 car bomb
May 8, 2002 Bus, Karachi, Pakistan 14 car bomb
April 11, 2002 Synagogue, Djerba, Tunisia 21 truck bomb
April 7, 2002 Villavicencio, Colombia 12 car bomb
March 21, 2002 U.S. Embassy, Lima, Peru 9 car bomb
October 1, 2001 Assembly Building, Srinagar, Kashmir 38 car bomb
June 19, 2001 Gudermes, Chechnya 12 car bombs (3)
March 24, 2001 Mineralnye Vody, Russia 19 car bomb
July 3, 2000 Grozny, Chechnya 25 truck bomb

1990s

WhenWhereDeathsType
September 4, 1999 Russian military apartment, Buinaksk, Dagestan 64 car bomb
September 5, 1998 Apartment, Makhachkala, Dagestan 17 car bomb
August 15, 1998 Omagh, Northern Ireland 29 car bomb
August 7, 1998 U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Tanzania 224 car bombs (2)
March 5, 1998 Street, Colombo, Sri Lanka 36 mini-bus bomb
November 19, 1997 Hyderabad, India 23 car bomb
October 15, 1997 World Trade Center, Colombo, Sri Lanka 18 truck bomb
June 25, 1996 Khobar Towers, Khobar (near Dhahran), Saudi Arabia 19 truck bomb
January 31, 1996 Central Bank, Colombo, Sri Lanka 90 truck bomb
December 21, 1995 Market, Peshawar, Pakistan 45 car bomb
November 19, 1995 Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan 15 truck bomb
November 13, 1995 U.S military headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 7 car bomb
April 19, 1995 Federal building, Oklahoma City, United States 168 truck bomb
February 27, 1995 Zakho, Iraq 76 car bomb
January 30, 1995 Market, Algiers, Algeria 42 car bomb
July 18, 1994 Jewish center, Buenos Aires, Argentina 86 car bomb
April 6, 1994 Bus, Afula, Israel (First suicide bombing in Israel) 8 car bomb
July 5, 1993 Newtownards, Northern Ireland 0 car bomb
June 21, 1993 Madrid, Spain 7 car bomb
May 27, 1993 Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy 6 car bomb
March 12, 1993 Mumbai, India (see 1993 Mumbai bombings) 257 car bombs
February 26, 1993 World Trade Center, New York City, USA 6 truck bomb
January 30, 1993 Bogotá, Colombia 20 car bomb
July 16, 1992 Shopping district, Lima, Peru 24 car bombs (2)
March 17, 1992 Israeli Embassy, Buenos Aires, Argentina 29 car bomb
May 12, 1990 Bogotá and Cali, Colombia 39 car bombs (3)

1980s

WhenWhereDeathsType
December 6, 1989 Bogotá, Colombia 52 truck bomb
November 22, 1989 Beirut, Lebanon 24 car bomb
May 16, 1989 Beirut, Lebanon 22 car bomb
April 14, 1989 Trincomalee, Sri Lanka 38 car bomb
July 8, 1988 Jalalabad, Afghanistan 31 truck bomb
April 23, 1988 Tripoli, Lebanon 60 truck bomb
April 14, 1988 USO Club, Naples, Italy 5 car bomb
October 8, 1987 Kabul, Afghanistan 27 car bomb
July 14, 1987 Karachi, Pakistan 72 car bombs (2)
July 5, 1987 Army Camp, Jaffna, Sri Lanka 40 truck bomb
June 19, 1987 Barcelona, Spain 21 car bomb
April 21, 1987 Bus station, Colombo, Sri Lanka 106 car bomb
August 19, 1986 Public square, Tehran, Iran 20 car bomb
March 27, 1986 Russell Street Police HQ, Melbourne, Australia 1 car bomb
March 17, 1986 Military compound, Damascus, Syria 60 truck bomb
August 17, 1985 Market, Beirut, Lebanon 55 car bomb
August 8, 1985 Rhein-Main Air Base, Frankfurt, West Germany 2 car bomb
May 22, 1985 Beirut, Lebanon 50 car bomb
March 10, 1985 Israeli convoy, Metullah, Lebanon 12 car bomb
March 8, 1985 Beirut, Lebanon 80 car bomb
September 20, 1984 U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon 23 car bomb
December 21, 1983 French Army building, Beirut, Lebanon 15 truck bomb
December 12, 1983 U.S. and French embassies in Kuwait City, Kuwait 6 truck bombs
November 4, 1983 Israeli Army HQ in Tyre, Lebanon 60 truck bomb
October 23, 1983 French Paratroop barracks in Beirut, Lebanon 58 truck bomb
October 23, 1983 U.S. Marines barracks in Beirut, Lebanon 241 truck bomb
May 20, 1983 Air Force Base in Pretoria, South Africa 20 car bomb
April 18, 1983 U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon 63 car bomb
February 2, 1983 Palestinian Research Center, Beirut, Lebanon 20 car bomb
January 28, 1983 PLO building, Beirut, Lebanon 45 car bomb
October 1, 1982 Central square, Tehran, Iran 60 truck bomb
September 14, 1982 Phalangist office, Beirut, Lebanon 26 car bomb
August 1, 1982 Baghdad, Iraq 20 car bomb
May 24, 1982 French Embassy, Beirut, Lebanon 14 car bomb
December 15, 1981 Iraqi Embassy, Beirut, Lebanon 61 car bomb
November 29, 1981 School, Damascus, Syria 64 car bomb
October 1, 1981 PLO Office, Beirut, Lebanon 83 car bomb

1920s-1970s

WhenWhereDeathsType
May 17, 1974 Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland 33 car bombs (2)
May 11, 1972 U.S. Army HQ, Frankfurt, Germany 1 car bomb
August 24, 1970 UWM campus, Madison, USA 1 truck bomb
March 30, 1965 U.S. Embassy, Saigon, South Vietnam 20 car bomb
March 11, 1948 Jewish Agency in Jerusalem, Palestine 11 car bomb
February 22, 1948 Jerusalem, Palestine 52 truck bombs
January 4, 1948 Hotel, Jaffa, Palestine 18 truck bomb
September 26, 1920 Wall Street, New York, United States 40 Wagon bomb

Assassinations by car bombings (by date)

WhenWhereTargetType
June 21, 2005 Beirut, Lebanon George Hawi, Fmr. Communist Party Head remote
June 2, 2005 Beirut, Lebanon Samir Kassir, journalist Ignition-based
February 14, 2005 Beirut, Lebanon Rafiq Hariri, Fmr. Lebanese Prime Minister (with 20 others) Unknown
May 17, 2004 Baghdad, Iraq Ezzedine Salim, Iraqi Governing Council leader Suicide car bomb
February 13, 2004 Doha, Qatar Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, Fmr. Chechen President remote
November 20, 2003 Istanbul, Turkey Roger Short, British consul general Suicide truck bomb
August 29, 2003 Najaf, Iraq Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim , Iraqi cleric (with 84 others) remote
August 19, 2003 Baghdad, Iraq Sérgio Vieira de Mello, UN special representative (with 21 others) Suicide truck bomb
May 20, 2002 Beirut, Lebanon Mohammed Jihad Ahmed Jibril, son of PFLP-GC leader Ahmed Jibril unknown
January 24, 2002 Beirut, Lebanon Elie Hobeika, Phalangist militia leader remote
February 22, 2000 Vitoria, Spain Fernando Buesa, Basque Socialist Party leader remote
October 21, 1999 Ankara, Turkey Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, prominent Turkish intellectual tilt-based
July 30, 1990 London, England Ian Gow, Conservative MP dynamite
November 22, 1989 Beirut, Lebanon Rene Moawad, President of Lebanon (with 23 others) remote
May 16, 1989 Beirut, Lebanon Hassan Khaled, Lebanese spiritual leader (with 21 others) remote
June 28, 1988 Athens, Greece William Nordeen, U.S. military attache remote
September 14, 1982 Beirut, Lebanon Bachir Gemayel, Phalangist President-elect of Lebanon (and 25 others) timer
March 30, 1979 Palace of Westminster, United Kingdom Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Airey Neave tilt-based
September 21, 1976 Washington, D.C., U.S. Orlando Letelier, Chilean exile unknown
June 2, 1976 Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. Don Bolles, investigative reporter remote (dynamite)
September 30, 1974 Buenos Aires, Argentina Carlos Prats, Former Chilean army commander
December 4, 1928 Chicago, U.S. "Dapper" Danny Hogan, mobster unknown
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