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

1 Mass car bombings (by date)

1.1 2000s
1.2 1990s
1.3 1980s
1.4 1920s-1970s

2 Assassinations by car bombings (by date)

Mass car bombings (by date)

2000s

When	Where	Deaths	Type
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

When	Where	Deaths	Type
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

When	Where	Deaths	Type
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

When	Where	Deaths	Type
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)

When	Where	Target	Type
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