In the 21st century, almost every day, humanity is shaken by chilling news of suicide bombings. Sometimes, it makes us wonder what is making these people kill innocents and for what? These questions remain unanswered as the mysteries get finished along with the man as soon as he detonates himself. However, few stories come out in open and give us a glimpse of what goes inside the minds of suicide bombers.
Read on to know more:
Lost paradise of teenager suicide bomber
In early April 2011, a Pakistani shrine was ripped off after a suicide blast, leaving scores dead. According to BBC, both the attackers were school kids, in their early teens. One of them survived and revealed why he wanted to sacrifice his life to take lives of others.
In an interview, Umar Fidai, 14, said, "All I was thinking was that I had to detonate myself near as many people as possible. When I decided it was the right time, it was a moment of happiness for me." He further added, "I thought that there would be a little bit of pain, but then I would be in heaven."
Fortunately, Umar's suicide jacket didn't work and he ended up receiving injuries in both of his arms. He revealed, "The plan was that Ismail would blow himself up near the shrine. I would wait for the ambulances to come and detonate myself near them to kill more people. I had no doubts at all beforehand."
"But at the time I detonated myself, thoughts of my family were not in my mind, I was only thinking about what the Taliban had taught me," Umar Fidai added.
"We had been taught that if the belt does not go off, we should kill ourselves with the grenade. There were three policemen standing close by, and I thought if I killed them too, I would still make it to heaven."
Indonesia's first female suicide bomber
As the wave of feminism is hitting hard to bring about a change in the patriarchal society, it seems the scene is similar in the case of terror activities. It came as a shock when the first female suicide bomber was arrested in Indonesia.
Dian Yulia Novi was working as a maid when she decided to join ISIS. She was determined to die as a martyr for the sake of global jihad. She was arrested on December 10, 2016, for planning to blow up the Indonesia's presidential palace.
In an interview with Time, she revealed how she got influenced and said, "Like any young person, I used social media like Facebook...I was curious about some accounts that liked jihad. So I spied on them and sent messages. Some of them replied me, some did not."
She started talking to like-minded ISIS sympathisers and ended up talking to Nur Solihin with whom she got married by using a Telegram messaging app, after she agreed to be a suicide bomber. Reportedly, they never even exchanged photographs and it was later revealed that Nur Solihin was already married.
Siti Dorojatul Aliah, director of Jakarta's Institute for International Peace Building, who has previously interviewed more than 50 female jihadis, believes despite their front-line roles, women like Dian are mere victims.
Consciousness awakens in ISIS teenage suicide bomber
In December 2016, a teenage suicide bomber Mohammed Ahmed Ismael was ordered to walk into an Iraqi city of Kirkuk's football stadium and detonate a suicide belt, but fortunately, he couldn't. The 15-year old was apprehended because he was acting suspiciously. The orders reportedly came from an older teenager called Dureed, who is also a member of the ISIS child soldiers' so-called Cubs of the Caliphate group.
In an interview with The Times, Mohammed said, "I was hesitating...Dureed kept urging 'just walk into the middle of them and blow yourself up', but there was something inside me that was resisting. I couldn't do it."
"Maybe if I went to school again one day I might begin to feel normal," Mohammed said. "Maybe then everything would start to fade away."
But he is in the detention centre and according to Colonel Azer Mohammed Juamar, his chances of a normal life are slim as he expects him to receive a 10-year sentence after trial.
Revenge story of Manchester suicide bomber
The recent suicide bombing in Manchester was carried out by a 22-year-old man, Salman Abedi. What is shocking is that his family reportedly have warned the security officials in the past about him saying that he was "dangerous" and after the attack, Abedi's father said,"We don't believe in killing innocents. This is not us."
Abedi's sister, Jomana, believed that he possibly carried out the attack for revenge on US air strikes in Syria stating, "I think he saw children—Muslim children—dying everywhere, and wanted revenge," she told the Wall Street Journal. "He saw the explosives America drops on children in Syria, and he wanted revenge. Whether he got that is between him and God."
