A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators intentionally end their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is often associated with terrorism or war. When the attackers are labelled as terrorists, the attacks are sometimes referred to as an act of suicide terrorism. Military use of suicide is not directly regulated by international law, but suicide attacks sometimes violate prohibitions against perfidy or targeting civilians. Suicide attacks have occurred in various contexts, ranging from military campaigns—such as the Japanese kamikaze pilots during World War II (1944–1945)—to more contemporary Islamic terrorist campaigns—including the September 11 attacks in 2001.
Suicide attacks have been used by a wide range of political ideologies, from far-right (Japan and Germany in WWII) to far-left (such as the PKK and JRA).
Kamikaze was a term initially used for Japanese suicide pilots in World War II, but is occasionally used in other contexts.
For example, the 1972 Lod Airport massacre in Israel by the Japanese Red Army (JRA) was labelled by some reports at the time a "Kamikaze" attack, but others have criticized the label, including the surviving attacker's interpreter. The Kamikaze were a unit of suicide bombers of the Empire of Japan in WWII, which had a very different ideology to the JRA. Researchers from Duke University described the JRA's motives as "rooted in anti-imperialism, anti-colonialism, and anti-capitalism". In more recent reports the 1972 JRA attack on Lod airport is described in modern terms such as "suicide attack" and "suicide mission", even when referring to the attacker who survived. All three militants intended to die, but one survived. He confessed and hoped to be quickly executed, but some attribute this to retrospective "survivor guilt".
The term "suicide bombing" dates back to at least 1940 when a New York Times article mentioned the term in relation to German tactics. Less than two years later, the New York Times referred to a Japanese kamikaze attempt on an American carrier as a "suicide bombing". In 1945, The Times of London referred to a kamikaze plane as a "suicide-bomb". Two years later, it referred to a new British pilot-less, radio-controlled rocket missile as originally designed "as a counter-measure to the Japanese 'suicide-bomber'."
The definition of "suicide" in this context is also a matter of debate.
Suicide terrorism itself has been defined by Ami Pedahzur, a professor at the University of Haifa, as "violent actions perpetrated by people who are aware that the odds they will return alive are close to zero". Other sources exclude from their work "suicidal" or high risk attacks, such as the Lod Airport massacre or a "reckless charge in battle".
Despite the Lod Airport massacre being explicitly planned as a suicide attack, and modern mainstream Israeli and international media describing the event as a "suicide attack" or "suicide mission".
Yoram Schweitzer, from the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (an Israeli think tank), focuses only on true "suicide attacks", where the odds of survival are not "close to zero" but required to be zero, because "the perpetrator's ensured death is a precondition for the success of his mission".
The narrower definition would also exclude the actions of groups such as those by the Hashishiyeen, by the Moro juramentado, and in Aceh during WWII (see below).
Adam Lankford also excludes from the definition are "proxy bombings", which may have political goals and be designed to look like a suicide bombing. The difference is that the "proxy" is forced to carry a bomb under threat, or the proxy isn't fully aware that they are delivering a bomb that will kill them. The definition also generally excludes mass shootings in which the perpetrators commit suicide, as the shooter committing suicide is a separate act from shooting their victims.
Further distinction is how many of such shootings are driven by personal and psychological reasons, rather than political, social or religious motives, such as the Columbine High School massacre, the Virginia Tech shooting or Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in the United States.
However, in 1999 the Columbine High School massacre was widely labelled as a suicide attack: both attackers shot themselves, but they planned the attack as a bombing. It is also a common trope that Muslim attackers are defined as terrorists while others are defined as mentally ill.
It may not always be clear to investigators which type of killing is which, since suicide attack campaigns sometimes use proxy bombers, as alleged in Iraq, or manipulate the vulnerable to become bombers. Adam Lankford, also argues that the motivation to kill and be killed connects some suicide attackers more closely to "suicidal rampage" murderers than is commonly thought.
Religious terminology for attackers and victims
All Abrahamic religions forbid suicide.
Suicide and suicide attempts have been decriminalised in most of the western world, but remain criminalised in some countries, such as Afghanistan, Nigeria, Palestine, and others.
Terminology relating to this sin or crime is used by Jews, Christians, and Muslims to condemn suicide attackers (see also above), different terminology is usually used to describe self sacrifice that they believe is justified, including actions their enemies label suicide attacks (see below).