Car bomb

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File:Carbomb.jpg
Car bomb in Iraq, made from a number of concealed artillery shells in the back of a pickup truck.
A car bombing in Iraq, 2005, in which a second car bomb was detonated while Coalition Forces were investigating the scene of an earlier car bombing, resulting in 18 deaths.

A car bombis an improvised explosive device that is placed in a car or other vehicle and then exploded. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupant(s) of the vehicle and people near the blast site and/or to cause damage to buildings or other property. Car bombs act as their own delivery mechanisms and can carry a relatively large amount of explosives without attracting suspicion. Trucks are most commonly used, although motorcycles and even bicycles have also been used to carry bombs.

The U.S. military and law enforcement agencies often call a car bomb a VBIED, an acronym standing for Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device.

Timothy McVeigh infamously bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City with a Ryder truck filled with ammonia nitrate/fuel oil explosive in the Oklahoma City bombing.

The earliest car bombs were intended for assassination. These were often wired to the car's ignition system, to explode when the car was started. Ignition triggering is now rare, as it is easy to detect and hard to install — interfering with the circuitry is time-consuming and car alarms can be triggered by drains on the car's electrical system. Also, the target can start the car remotely (inadvertently or otherwise), or the target may be a passenger who is a safe distance away when the ignition starts. It is now more common for assassination bombs to be affixed to the underside of the car and then detonated remotely, by the car's motion, or by other means. The bomb is exploded as the target approaches or starts the vehicle or, more commonly, after the vehicle begins to move, 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.

File:Vbied-standards-chart.jpg
BATF summary table illustrating the size and range of effectiveness of car bombs by vehicle type used

In recent years, car bombs have become widely used by suicide bombers who seek to ram the car into a building and simultaneously detonate it. Truck bombs are also popular, since trucks can crash through barriers more easily and can hold a great deal more explosives.

Defending against a car bomb involves keeping vehicles at a distance from vulnerable targets, often using Jersey barriers, concrete blocks or bollards, and hardening buildings to withstand an explosion. Since the height of the PIRA campaign, the entrance to Downing Street has been closed, preventing the general public from getting near Number 10. This can be difficult where public roads pass near buildings, and road closures may be the only option in such circumstances (hence, for instance, in Washington, D.C. Pennsylvania Avenue is closed to traffic immediately behind the White House).

Car bombs have been used by terrorist groups for many years. For instance the IRA used them frequently during its campaign in The Troubles in Northern Ireland and Great Britain. IRA car bombs frequently caused major civilian casualties, for example on Bloody Friday in 1972. The IRA used mercury tilt switches in the majority of their car bombs. Mass casualty car bombing, and especially suicide car bombing, is principally a Middle Eastern phenomenon. The tactic was first widely used in the Lebanese Civil War by the Islamic fundamentalist group Hezbollah (most notably in the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing which killed 241 U.S. marines and 58 French), by Palestinian terrorist groups against Israeli civilians, and was also adopted by the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka's long-running ethnic conflict. In more recent times, suicide car bombings have been used throughout the Islamic world, especially in Iraq, by jihadist organization such as groups affiliated to al Qaeda.

Mass car bombings (by date)

2000s

Date Location Deaths Type
December 30, 2006 Kufa, Iraq 35 minibus bomb
December 12, 2006 Baghdad, Iraq 71 minibus bomb, car bomb
December 2, 2006 Baghdad, Iraq 51 car bombs (3)
November 23, 2006 Sadr City, Iraq 215 car bombs (6)
October 16, 2006 Digampathana, Sri Lanka 100 truck bomb
September 23, 2006 Sadr City, Iraq 34 car bomb
August 3, 2006 Panjwayi, Afghanistan 21 car bomb
July 23, 2006 Sadr City, Iraq 36 car bomb
July 18, 2006 Kufa, Iraq 53 minibus bomb
July 1, 2006 Sadr City, Iraq 66 car bomb
March 12, 2006 Sadr City, Iraq 58 car bombs (2)
November 24, 2005 Mahmoudiya, Iraq 30 car bomb
November 19, 2005 Abu Sayda, Iraq 50 car bomb
October 29, 2005 Howaider, Iraq 30 truck bomb
October 11, 2005 Tal Afar, Iraq 30 car bomb
September 29, 2005 Balad, Iraq 102 car bombs (3)
September 17, 2005 Nahrwan, Iraq 30 car bomb
September 14, 2005 Baghdad, Iraq 114 car bomb
August 17, 2005 Baghdad, Iraq 43 car bombs (3)
July 23, 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt (2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks) 88 car bombs (2)
July 16, 2005 Mussayib, Iraq 98 truck bomb
July 15, 2005 Baghdad, Iraq 32 car bombs (11)
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 22 truck 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 14, 2004 Police station, Baghdad, Iraq 47 car bomb
September 9, 2004 Australian Embassy, Jakarta, Indonesia 9 van bomb
July 28, 2004 Police station, Baquba, Iraq 70 mini-bus bomb
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 27, 2003 Coalition targets, Karbala, Iraq 19 car bombs (4)
December 25, 2003 Rawalpindi, Pakistan 14 truck bombs
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 Imam Ali Mosque, Najaf, Iraq 85 car bomb
August 25, 2003 Mumbai, India 52 car bombs (2)
August 19, 2003 United Nations Iraqi 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 7, 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 Megiddo Junction, Israel 17 car bomb
May 8, 2002 2002 Karachi bus bombing, 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

Date Location 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
February 9, 1996 South Quay DLR station bombing, Docklands, London, UK
(ended IRA cease-fire in the Northern Ireland peace process) 		2 truck bomb
January 31, 1996 Central Bank, Colombo, Sri Lanka 90 truck bomb
December 21, 1995 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 Algiers, Algeria 42 car bomb
July 18, 1994 Jewish center, Buenos Aires, Argentina 85 car bomb
April 6, 1994 Afula, Israel 8 car bomb
June 21, 1993 Madrid, Spain 7 car bomb
April 24, 1993 Bishopsgate, London, England 1 truck 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 Lima, Peru 24 car bombs (2)
April 10, 1992 Baltic Exchange, London, England 3 truck bomb
March 17, 1992 Israeli Embassy, Buenos Aires, Argentina 29 car bomb
October 28, 1991 U.S. military personnel facility, Istanbul and Tuslog, Turkey 2 car bombs (3)
May 29, 1991 Vic, Spain 10 car bomb
May 12, 1990 Bogotá and Cali, Colombia 39 car bombs (3)

1980s

Date Location Deaths Type
December 6, 1989 Bogotá, Colombia 52 truck bomb
November 22, 1989 Beirut, Lebanon 24 car bomb
October 19, 1989 Metulla, Israel 8 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
December 11, 1987 Zaragoza, Spain 11 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 Colombo, Sri Lanka 106 car bomb
August 19, 1986 Tehran, Iran 20 car bomb
July 14, 1986 Madrid, Spain 12 car bomb
March 27, 1986 Victoria 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, outside Metula, Lebanon 12 car bomb
March 8, 1985 Beirut, Lebanon (1985 Beirut Car Bombing) 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 (1983 Beirut barracks bombing) 58 truck bomb
October 23, 1983 United States Marines barracks in Beirut, Lebanon (1983 Beirut barracks bombing) 241 truck bomb
May 20, 1983 Church Street, Pretoria, South Africa (Church Street bombing) 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
July 20, 1982 Hyde Park parade, London, England 4 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 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 (3)
July 20, 1972, "Bloody Friday", Belfast city centre, Northern Ireland, 9 car bombs (22)
May 24, 1972 U.S. Army base, Heidelberg, Germany 3 car bomb
May 11, 1972 U.S. Army HQ, Frankfurt, Germany 1 car bomb
February 22, 1972 Aldershot barracks, Aldershot, England 7 car bomb
August 24, 1970 UW campus, Madison, USA (see Sterling Hall bombing) 1 truck bomb
March 30, 1965 U.S. Embassy, Saigon, South Vietnam 20 car bomb
May 2, 1962 Algiers, Algeria 62 car bomb
March 11, 1948 Jewish Agency in Jerusalem, Palestine 11 car bomb
March 2, 1948 Office building, Haifa, Palestine 14+ truck bomb
February 22, 1948 Ben Yehuda Street, Jerusalem, Palestine 52-80 truck bombs (2)
January 4, 1948 Hotel, Jaffa, Palestine 18 truck bomb
April 25, 1947 Sarona police compound, Tel Aviv, Palestine 5 truck bomb
January 12, 1947 Police station, Haifa, Palestine 4 truck bomb
September 16, 1920 Wall Street, New York, United States 40 wagon bomb

Assassinations by car bombings (by date)

When Where Target Type
December 12, 2005 Beirut, Lebanon Gebran Tueni, lawmaker remote
June 28, 2005 Baghdad, Iraq Dhari Ali al-Fayadh, Iraqi MP Suicide car bomb
June 21, 2005 Beirut, Lebanon George Hawi, Fmr. Communist Party Head remote
June 2, 2005 Beirut, Lebanon Samir Kassir, journalist remote
February 14, 2005 Beirut, Lebanon Rafiq Hariri, Fmr. Lebanese Prime Minister (with 20 others) Suicide truck bomb
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
May 23, 1992 Capaci, Sicily, Italy Giovanni Falcone, Italian judge (other victims were Falcone's wife Francesca Morvillo, policemen Rocco Di Cillo, Antonio Montinaro, Vito Schifani) remote
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
October 4, 1982 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Frank Rosenthal, mob bookmaker (failed) ignition
March 30, 1979 Palace of Westminster, United Kingdom Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Airey Neave tilt-based
January 22, 1979 Beirut, Lebanon Ali Hassan Salameh, Black September leader remote
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 St. Paul, U.S. "Dapper" Danny Hogan, mobster unknown
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