A dry run or a test run is an act committed by a

terrorist organization Several national governments and two international organizations have created lists of organizations that they designate as terrorist. The following list of designated terrorist groups lists groups designated as terrorist by current and former ...

individual An individual is one that exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of living as an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) as a person unique from other people and possessing one's own needs or g ...

without carrying out any actual

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

in an attempt to determine whether a technique they are planning to use will be successful. The dry run is part of the rehearsal for a terrorist act, and is often the immediate precursor to the attack. It may include attempting to smuggle weapons or other items to be used in the attack past a

security checkpoint Civilian checkpoints or security checkpoints are distinguishable from border or frontier checkpoints in that they are erected and enforced within contiguous areas under military or paramilitary control. Civilian checkpoints have been employed w ...

to determine whether this will be noticed, or monitoring the reactions of security personnel to the actions that would occur during a real attack. The dry run is considered to be the heart of the planning stages of the terrorist attack. It is the method by which strengths and weaknesses in the plot are exposed to the terrorists, unforeseen obstacles can be detected, and the techniques are refined. Sometimes, multiple dry runs are conducted in an effort to perfect the ultimate attack.

Suspicious signs

The following are suspicious signs a dry run may be occurring: *Appearing out-of-place *Sitting in car and observing operations for no apparent reason *Photography or videotaping with no obvious reason or illegally *Monitoring of a police radio frequency and observing response times to calls *Mapping out routes to determine timing of traffic flow and lights *Attempting to learn inside information about the operations of a place *Abandoning object(s), such as pieces of luggage

Notable reports of dry runs

*Prior to the 1995

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, United States, on April 19, 1995. The bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. Perpetr ...

of the Alfred P. Murrah building,

Timothy McVeigh Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was an American domestic terrorist who masterminded and perpetrated the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. The bombing itself killed 167 people (including 19 children), injured ...

and

Terry Nichols Terry Lynn Nichols (born April 1, 1955) is an American domestic terrorism in the United States, domestic terrorist who was convicted for conspiring with Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing plot. Nichols was born in Lapeer, Michigan. ...

had scouted out and visited several federal buildings nationwide to analyze their structures, security and U.S. federal government offices located within. *In 2004 a group of Syrian musicians boarded Northwest Airlines Flight 327. Some passengers were alarmed by the men, including Annie Jacobsen who brought the flight to national attention. She described the group of men's behavior as consistent with a dry run. Investigating authorities including the FBI concluded there was no terrorist threat. *In 2006,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

authorities uncovered a plot in which suspected terrorists were making a dry run in an attempt to make bombs out of peroxide that could be ignited with an electronic device. This led to restrictions internationally on carrying liquids on aircraft. *A few days before the attempted 2010 Times Square car bombing, perpetrator Faisal Shahzad had driven the vehicle to be used in the bombing to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to rehearse the act and determine the ideal parking spot to leave the Nissan Pathfinder car bom

*Investigators believe that the

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

branch of

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

may have been conducting a dry run with shipments they made in 2010 on

cargo aircraft A cargo aircraft (also known as freight aircraft, freighter, airlifter or cargo jet) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is designed or converted for the carriage of cargo rather than passengers. Such aircraft generally feature one or more large door ...

in preparation for the 2010 transatlantic aircraft bomb plot.http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/01/1903479/terrorists-may-have-conducted.html

References

{{reflist Terrorism tactics Smuggling