LTTE Suicide Bombers of Sri Lanka
Abstract
Suicide Human Bombing attacks are the most virulent and horrifying form ofterrorism in the world today. The smooth functioning of Civic, Social, Political and theDefence sectors of many countries has succumbed to the lethality of such acts. TheLTTE re-invented “Martyrdom Operation Concept” as a lethal and precise destructionweapon, targeting them on Security Forces, Political Leaders, Economic Nerve Centers,technological hubs and religious sanctuaries to achieve collateral damage, strategicadvantage, ability to balance power in an asymmetric war, unleash fear and utmostpsychological damage to the society, gain publicity and even sympathy and to motivatetheir subscribers. One of the societal dimensions of Suicide Terrorism focuess onfactors such as the degree of frustration caused by social injustice. The charismaticLTTE leadership commonly succeeded in promoting highly pro-social and nondestructivegoals, along with the significant contribution of Suicide Martyrs.
The main method of collecting primary and secondary data on over 150 suicideattacks (1987-2009), included: various sources, such as Police Investigation Reports,Case Proceedings, Published Datasets and interviews of the captured suicide bombersuspects and LTTE cadres, currently in the Police custody, pending legal action.
Research Findings revealed that suicide attacks are highly effective at civiliandeaths and injuries accounted for almost 57% and 80% respectively of the total of 1,608deaths and 5,098 injured persons. Average casualty rate per event was 11 deaths against34 injured.
This research has made an attempt to look into the suicide attacks as a;“homicide” and method of “deliberate and killing of others”, with number ofrecommendations to prevent recurrence of such incidences in future, while stressing theneed to address the political, socio-economic and ethno-cultural aspirations of thepeople through democratic processes.
Key words: Succumbed, Suicide bombers, Terrorism, LTTE, Homicide, Lethality &Criminal act
