Vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device
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A car bomb, bus bomb, van bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an
improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...
designed to be detonated in an
automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided into two main categories: those used primarily to kill the occupants of the vehicle (often as an
assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
) and those used as a means to kill, injure or damage people and buildings outside the vehicle. The latter type may be parked (the vehicle disguising the bomb and allowing the bomber to get away), or the vehicle might be used to deliver the bomb (often as part of a
suicide bombing A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...
). It is commonly used as a weapon of
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 ...
or
guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...
to kill people near the blast site or to damage buildings or other property. Car bombs act as their own delivery mechanisms and can carry a relatively large amount of
explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...
without attracting suspicion. In larger vehicles and trucks, weights of around or more have been used, for example, in the
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 ...
. Car bombs are activated in a variety of ways, including opening the vehicle's doors, starting the engine, remote detonation, depressing the accelerator or brake pedals, or simply lighting a fuse or setting a timing device. The gasoline in the vehicle's fuel tank may make the explosion of the bomb more powerful by dispersing and igniting the fuel.


History

Car bombs have been used for attacks motivated by a wide variety of grievances and ideologies, by people and groups from a wide variety of cultural and religious backgrounds: left wing, right wing,
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, Catholic,
Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
,
Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
, and others. Car bombs are preceded by the 16th century
hellburners Hellburners ( Dutch: ''hellebranders''), also known as explosion ships or Antwerp fire, were a pair of specialised explosive fireships built and fielded by the defending Dutch rebels in the Fall of Antwerp (1584–1585), part of the Eighty Years ...
, explosive-laden ships which were used to deadly effect by the besieged
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
forces in
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
against the besieging
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
. Though using a less refined technology, the basic principle of the hellburner is similar to that of the car bomb. Car bombs were also preceded by animal bombs using horses and cows, then eventually emerging into car use. Prior to the 20th century, bombs planted in horse carts had been used in assassination plots, notably the unsuccessful " ''machine infernale''" attempt to kill
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
on 24 December 1800.
Mario Buda Mario Buda (1883–1963) was an Italian anarchist who was active among the militant American Galleanists in the late 1910s and best known for being the likely perpetrator of the 1920 Wall Street bombing, which killed 40 people and injured h ...
's improvised wagon used in the 1920
Wall Street bombing The Wall Street bombing was an act of terrorism on Wall Street at 12:01 pm on Thursday, September 16, 1920. The blast killed 30 people immediately, and another 10 later died of wounds that they sustained in the blast. There were 143 serio ...
is considered a prototype of the car bomb. Some groups in
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
have used both cars and
donkeys The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...
. The first car bomb may have been the one used for the assassination attempt on Ottoman Sultan
Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...
in 1905 in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
by Armenian separatists in the command of
Papken Siuni Bedros Parian (; 1873 – 26 August 1896), better known by his nom de guerre Papken Siuni (), was an Armenian revolutionary and a leading figure in the late 19th-century Armenian national movement. A member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federat ...
belonging to the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenians, Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, Literal translation, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalism, Armenian nationalist a ...
. The first reported car bombing was the
Bath School bombings The Bath School disaster, also known as the Bath School massacre, was a series of violent attacks perpetrated by Andrew Kehoe upon the Bath Consolidated School in Bath Township, Michigan, United States, on May 18, 1927. The attacks killed 38 ...
in
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, USA in 1927. Multiple separate explosions on the same day killed 45 people, including the bomber, and half of a school was destroyed. The bombings were all carried out by
Andrew Kehoe Andrew Philip Kehoe (February 1, 1872 – May 18, 1927) was an American mass murderer. Kehoe was a Michigan farmer who became disgruntled after losing an election to be the Bath Township Clerk. He murdered his wife and then detonated bombs at ...
, motivated by a personal grievance. His death was possibly an intentional
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
, but the cause of the explosion was a gun shot that might not have been intended to set off the load. The explosion itself did not seem to form part of a
suicide attack A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...
on a specific planned target other than possibly himself and his truck. The explosives in his truck detonated when he saw two men nearby had a gun, after he set off multiple other bombs. The explosion may have been set off indirectly by him firing his own gun at the men. Most of the deaths were caused by the earlier bombs. While not an adaptation of a people-carrying vehicle, the WW2 German
Goliath Goliath ( ) was a Philistines, Philistine giant in the Book of Samuel. Descriptions of Goliath's giant, immense stature vary among biblical sources, with texts describing him as either or tall. According to the text, Goliath issued a challen ...
remote control mine shares many parallels with a vehicle-based IED. It approached a target (often a tank or another armoured vehicle) at speed before exploding, destroying itself and the target. It was armoured so that it could not be destroyed en route. However, it was not driven by a person, instead operated by remote control from a safe distance. The first non-
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
car bombing "fully conceptualized as a weapon of urban warfare" came on 12 January 1947 when the Lehi (also known as
Stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...
Gang), a
Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
paramilitary organization, bombed the Haifa police station. On 4 January 1948, a Lehi car bomb in
Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...
killed 70 Palestinian Arabs. Car bombing was a significant part of the
Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
(PIRA) campaign during
The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
.
Dáithí Ó Conaill Dáithí Ó Conaill (English: ''David O'Connell''; May 1938 – 1 January 1991) was an Irish republican, a member of the IRA Army Council of the Provisional IRA, and vice-president of Sinn Féin and Republican Sinn Féin. He was also the firs ...
is credited with introducing the car bomb to
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
. Car bombs were also used by
Ulster loyalist Ulster loyalism is a strand of Unionism in Ireland, Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland (and formerly all of I ...
groups (for example, by the UVF during the
Dublin and Monaghan bombings The Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 17 May 1974 were a series of co-ordinated bombings in Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland, carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Three car bombs exploded in Dublin during the evening rush hour and a ...
). PIRA Chief of Staff
Seán Mac Stíofáin Seán Mac Stíofáin (born John Edward Drayton Stephenson; 17 February 1928 – 18 May 2001) was an English-born chief of staff of the Provisional IRA, a position he held between 1969 and 1972. Childhood Although he used the Gaelicised vers ...
defines the car bomb as both a tactical and a strategic guerrilla warfare weapon. Strategically, it disrupts the ability of the enemy government to administer the country, and hits simultaneously at the core of its economic structure by means of massive destruction. From a tactical point of view, it ties down a large number of security forces and troops around the main urban areas of the region in conflict. A notable suicide car bombing was the
1983 Beirut barracks bombing On October 23, 1983, two truck bombs were detonated at buildings in Beirut, Lebanon, housing American and French service members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF), a military peacekeeping operation during the Lebanese Civil War. The ...
, when two simultaneous attacks killed 241 U.S. and 58 French peacekeepers. The perpetrator of these attacks has never been positively confirmed. In the
Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...
, an estimated 3,641 car bombs were detonated. The tactic was adopted by Palestinian militant groups such as
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
,
Fatah Fatah ( ; ), formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (), is a Palestinian nationalist and Arab socialist political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...
, and Islamic Jihad, especially during the Second Intifada (2000–2005). Mass-casualty suicide car bombings are predominantly associated with the Middle East, particularly in recent decades. In the
autumn Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southern Hemisphe ...
of 2005, there were 140 car bombings happening per month.


As a delivery system

Car bombs are effective weapons as they are an easy way to transport a large number of explosives to a target. A car bomb also produces copious shrapnel, or flying debris, and secondary damage to bystanders and buildings. In recent years, car bombs have become widely used by suicide bombers.


Countermeasures

Defending against a car bomb involves keeping vehicles at a distance from vulnerable targets by using
roadblock A roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block traffic along a road. The reasons for one could be: * Roadworks *Temporary road closure during special events * Police chase *Robbery * Sobriety checkpoint * Protests In peaceful ...
s and checkpoints,
Jersey barrier A Jersey barrier, Jersey wall, or Jersey bump is a modular concrete or plastic barrier employed to separate lanes of traffic. It is designed to minimize vehicle damage in cases of incidental contact while still preventing vehicle crossovers resu ...
s, concrete blocks or
bollard A bollard is a sturdy, short, vertical post. The term originally referred to a post on a ship or quay used principally for mooring boats. In modern usage, it also refers to posts installed to control road traffic and posts designed to pre ...
s, metal barriers, or by hardening buildings to withstand explosions. The entrance to
Downing Street Downing Street is a gated street in City of Westminster, Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In a cul-de-sac situated off Whiteh ...
in London has been closed since 1991 in reaction to the
Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
campaign, preventing the public from approaching Number 10. Where major public roads pass near buildings, road closures may be the only option (thus, for instance, in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
the portion of
Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue is a primarily diagonal street in Washington, D.C. that connects the United States Capitol with the White House and then crosses northwest Washington, D.C. to Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown. Traveling through So ...
immediately in front of the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
is closed to traffic). Historically these tactics have encouraged potential bombers to target "soft" or unprotected targets, such as markets.


Suicide usage

In the Iraqi and Syrian Civil War, the car bomb concept was modified so that it could be driven and detonated by a driver but armoured to withstand incoming fire. The vehicle would be driven to its target area, in a similar fashion to a
kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
plane of
WW2 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising ...
. These were known by the acronym SVBIED (from Suicide Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device) or VBIEDs. Ordinary civilian cars were outfitted with armour plating intended to protect the VBIED as it approached its target. Such SVBIEDs were driven into enemy troop areas or incoming enemy columns. Most often, the SVBIEDs were used by
ISIL The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signif ...
against Government forces, but also used by Syrian rebels ( FSA and allied militias, especially the
Al-Nusra Front Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra or Jabhat Nusrat Ahl al-Sham, also known as Front for the Conquest of the Levant, and also later known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham was a Salafi-jihadist organization that fought against Ba'athist Syria, Ba'athist ...
) against government troops. The vehicles have become more sophisticated, with armour plating on the vehicle, protected vision slits, armour plating over the wheels so they would withstand being shot at and occasionally additional metal grating over the front of the vehicle designed to crush or destroy incoming
shaped charge A shaped charge, commonly also hollow charge if shaped with a cavity, is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Different types of shaped charges are used for various purposes such as cutting and forming metal, ...
s such as those used on rocket propelled grenades. Trucks were sometimes used to start an assault, and benefitted from their greater storage space that could contain very heavy explosives. Animal drawn carts, typically pulled by horse or mule, have also been used. Tactically, a single vehicle may be used, or an initial "breakthrough" vehicle, then followed by another vehicle. While many car bombs are disguised as ordinary vehicles, some that are used against military forces have
improvised vehicle armour Improvised vehicle armour is a form of vehicle armour consisting of protective materials added to a vehicle such as a car, truck, or tank in an irregular and extemporized fashion using available materials. Typically, improvised armour is adde ...
attached to prevent the driver from being shot when attacking a fortified outpost.


Operation

Car bombs and detonators function in a diverse manner of ways and there are numerous variables in the operation and placement of the bomb within the vehicle. Earlier and less advanced car bombs were often wired to the car's ignition system, but this practice is now considered more laborious and less effective than other more recent methods, as it requires a greater amount of work for a system that can often be quite easily
defuse Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are disabled or otherwise rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated fu ...
d. While it is more common nowadays for car bombs to be fixed magnetically to the underside of the car, underneath the passenger or driver's seat, or inside of the
mudguard A mudflap is an accessory on wheel wells of a motor vehicle. Mudflap may also refer to: * Mudflap (''Transformers''), several fictional robot superhero characters in the ''Transformers'' robot superhero franchise. *Mudflap, a version of the Nike ...
, detonators triggered by the opening of the vehicle door or by pressure applied to the brakes or accelerating pedals are also used. Bombs operating by the former method of fixation to the underside of the car more often than not make use of a device called a tilt fuse. A small tube made of glass or plastic, the tilt fuse is similar in operation to a
mercury switch A mercury switch is an electricity, electrical switch that opens and closes a electrical circuit, circuit when a small amount of the liquid metal mercury (element), mercury connects metal electrodes to close the circuit. There are several differ ...
or medical tablet tube. One end of the fuse will be filled with mercury, while the other open end is wired with the ends of an open circuit to an electrical firing system. When the tilt fuse moves or is jerked, the supply of mercury will flow to the top of the tube and close the circuit. Thus, as the vehicle goes through the regular bumping and dipping that comes with driving over a terrain, the circuit is completed, and the explosive is detonated. Car bombs are effective as booby traps because they also leave very little evidence. When an explosion happens, it is difficult for forensics to find any evidence because things either denigrate or become charred. As a safety mechanism to protect the bomber, the placer of the bomb may rig a timing device incorporated with the circuit to activate the circuit only after a certain time period, therefore ensuring the bomber will not accidentally activate the bomb before they are able to get clear of the blast radius. Even though right now car bombs are supposed to be stealth weapons that cause a good deal of damage, it is feared that they can become bigger, more lethal weapons such as the size of a trailer, making huge explosions and causing plenty of damage.


Groups that use car bombs


Americas

*Although it has never been officially acknowledged, the American
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
has occasionally been accused of being behind car bombings. One such attack was the failed assassination attempt on Grand Ayatollah
Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah (; 16 November 1935 – 4 July 2010) was a prominent Lebanese- Iraqi Twelver Shia cleric. Born in Najaf, Iraq, Fadlallah studied Islam in Najaf before moving to Lebanon in 1952. In the following de ...
in the Beirut car bombing on 8 March 1985. Although there has been widespread speculation of CIA involvement, this has never been proven conclusively. *The
Juárez Cartel The Juárez Cartel (, ), also known as the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Organization, is a Mexican drug cartel based in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, across the Mexico—U.S. border from El Paso, Texas. The cartel is one of several drug trafficking ...
's armed wing,
La Línea LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...
, used a car bomb to attack police officers in
Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( , ; "Juárez City"), commonly referred to as just Juárez (Lipan language, Lipan: ''Tsé Táhú'ayá''), is the most populous city in the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. It was k ...
,
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
on 15 July 2010. *The
Sinaloa Cartel The Sinaloa Cartel (, , after the native Sinaloa region), also known as the ''CDS'', the ''Guzmán-Loera Organization'', the ''Federation'', the ''Sinaloa Cartel'', or the Pacific Cartel, is a large, drug trafficking transnational organized cri ...
and the
Gulf Cartel The Gulf Cartel ( , or ''Golfos'') is a criminal syndicate, Drug cartel, drug trafficking organization, and U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, which is perhaps one of the oldest organized crime groups in Mexico. It is currently bas ...
were blamed for using car bombs in
Nuevo Laredo Nuevo Laredo () is a city in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Laredo, Texas, Laredo, United States. The 2010 census popula ...
,
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
on 24 April 2011 to "heat up" the turf of
Los Zetas Los Zetas (, Spanish for "The Zs") is a Mexican criminal syndicate and designated terrorist organization, known as one of the most dangerous of Mexico's drug cartels. They are known for engaging in brutally violent " shock and awe" tactics suc ...
.


Europe

*
Dissident republican Dissident republicans () are Irish republicans who do not support the Northern Ireland peace process. The peace agreements followed a 30-year conflict known as the Troubles, in which over 3,500 people were killed and 47,500 injured, and in whi ...
s in Northern Ireland used car bombs in the last two decades, the deadliest attack being the
Omagh bombing The Omagh bombing was a car bombing on 15 August 1998 in the town of Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It was carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army (Real IRA), a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) splinter group who op ...
of 1998. *The
Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a secret society, criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of ...
from the 1980s through the 1990s used car bombs in various attacks such as the
Capaci bombing The Capaci bombing () was a terror attack by the Sicilian Mafia that took place on 23 May 1992 on Highway A29, close to the junction of Capaci, Sicily. It killed magistrate Giovanni Falcone, his wife Francesca Morvillo, and three police esco ...
or the
Via d'Amelio bombing The via D'Amelio bombing () was a terrorist attack by the Sicilian Mafia, which took place in Palermo, Sicily, Italy, on 19 July 1992. It killed Paolo Borsellino, the anti-Mafia Italian magistrate, and five members of his police escort: Agostino ...
. *The
Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( ; abbreviated as SBU [] or SSU) is the main Internal security, internal security agency of the Government of Ukraine, Ukrainian government. Its main duties include counter-intelligence activity and combati ...
used a car bomb in
2022 Crimean Bridge explosion On 8 October 2022, at 6:07 a.m., a fire broke out on the Crimean Bridge as a result of an explosion of a bomb loaded onto a truck, which occurred on the road bridge, on the westbound vehicle lanes running from Russia to Kerch in Russian ...
.


West Asia

*
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
member
Imad Mughniyah Imad Fayez Mughniyeh (; 7 December 1962 – 12 February 2008), also known by his nom de guerre al-Hajj Radwan (), was a Lebanese militant leader who was the founding member of Lebanon's Islamic Jihad Organization and number two in Hezbollah's ...
was assassinated by a car bomb in Syria in 2008, allegedly by
Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...
. *Various Palestinian militant groups such as
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
, Islamic Jihad,
Fatah Fatah ( ; ), formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (), is a Palestinian nationalist and Arab socialist political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...
, and various opposition Islamist groups against both military and civilian
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
i targets. *
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 ...
, in attacks around the world since the 1990s, most notably the
1998 United States embassy bombings The 1998 United States embassy bombings were attacks that occurred on August 7, 1998. More than 220 people were killed in two nearly simultaneous car bomb, truck bomb explosions in two East African capital cities, one at the Embassy of the Uni ...
. *During the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, the
Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
have often employed vehicular explosives against enemy targets. This included not only cars and trucks, but even
bicycle bomb A bicycle bomb (or bike bomb) is an improvised explosive device that is placed on a bicycle. History Afghanistan * In Kandahar in the main square at least 15 people were wounded by a bicycle bomb. * In February 2006 in the city of Kunduz as a re ...
s. *Similar to
Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...
, other organizations associated with the
Israeli government The Israeli system of government is based on parliamentary democracy. The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government (also known as the cabinet). Legislat ...
, including the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
(IDF), have been known to use car bombs to kill rivals of the Israeli state. *The Iraqi insurgency. An estimated 578 car bombs were detonated in Iraq between June 2003 and June 2006. *The
Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...
, which has employed armored explosive-laden
crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Music Albums * ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue * ''Crossover'', an album by ...
s, full-sized
pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a Truck_classification#Table_of_US_GVWR_classifications, light or medium duty truck that has an enclosed cabin (truck), cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (th ...
s, and
SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definition ...
s as suicidal tactical units to breach enemy defensive fronts in Syria and Iraq. The use of armored tractors and
haul truck Haul trucks are off-road, heavy-duty dump trucks specifically engineered for use in high-production mining and exceptionally demanding construction environments. Most are dual axle; at least two examples of tri-axles were made in the 1970s. Hau ...
s was also recorded over the course of the war.


South Asia

*Militants and criminals in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
occasionally utilize car bombs in attacks. This includes Muslim,
Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
,
Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
i and
Naxalite Naxalism is the communist ideology of the Naxalites or Naxals, a grouping of political and insurgent groups from India. It is influenced by Maoist political sentiment and ideology. Inspired by Maoism, Charu Majumdar wrote the Historic Eight ...
militants, as well as rival politicians within the government and
organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...
. A notable recent attack was the
25 August 2003 Mumbai bombings The 25 August 2003 Mumbai bombings were twin car bombings in the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 54, and injured 244 people. One of the bomb explosions took place at the Gateway of India, which is a major tourist attraction. The other bom ...
, in which two car bombs killed 54 people. The attack was claimed by the Pakistani-backed Kashmiri separatist group
Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is a Pakistani Islamism, Islamist militant organization driven by a Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist ideology. The organisation's primary stated objective is to merge the whole of Kashmir with Pakistan. It was founded in 19 ...
. *The
Pakistani Taliban The Pakistani Taliban, officially the Tehreek-i-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current ...
have occasionally used car bombs in their ongoing conflict with the government of Pakistan.


Timeline


20th century

* 1920: The
Wall Street bombing The Wall Street bombing was an act of terrorism on Wall Street at 12:01 pm on Thursday, September 16, 1920. The blast killed 30 people immediately, and another 10 later died of wounds that they sustained in the blast. There were 143 serio ...
— Suspected that Italian anarchist
Mario Buda Mario Buda (1883–1963) was an Italian anarchist who was active among the militant American Galleanists in the late 1910s and best known for being the likely perpetrator of the 1920 Wall Street bombing, which killed 40 people and injured h ...
(a member of the "
Galleanists (Italian for Galleanists) are followers or supporters of the Italian immigrant insurrectionary anarchist Luigi Galleani, who operated most notably in the United States following his immigration to the country. The vast majority of ''Gallea ...
") parked a horse-drawn wagon filled with explosives and shrapnel in the
Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host ...
of
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 ...
. The blast killed 38 and wounded 143. * 1927: The
Bath School disaster The Bath School disaster, also known as the Bath School massacre, was a series of violent attacks perpetrated by Andrew Kehoe upon the Bath Community Schools, Bath Consolidated School in Bath Charter Township, Michigan, Bath Township, Michiga ...
Andrew Kehoe Andrew Philip Kehoe (February 1, 1872 – May 18, 1927) was an American mass murderer. Kehoe was a Michigan farmer who became disgruntled after losing an election to be the Bath Township Clerk. He murdered his wife and then detonated bombs at ...
used a detonator to ignite
dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...
and hundreds of pounds of pyrotol which he had secretly planted inside a school. As rescuers started gathering at the school, Kehoe drove up, stopped, and detonated a bomb inside his shrapnel-filled vehicle, killing himself and the
school superintendent In the American education system, a superintendent or superintendent of schools is an administrator or manager in charge of a number of public schools or a school district, a local government body overseeing public schools. All school principal ...
, and killing and injuring several others. In total, Kehoe killed 44 people and injured 58, making the Bath School bombing the deadliest act of
mass murder Mass murder is the violent crime of murder, killing a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more ...
in a school in U.S. history. * Militant group Lehi were the first group to use car bombs in the
British Mandate for Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of the territories of Palestine and Transjordanwhich had been part of the Ottoman Empire for four centuriesfollowing the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in Wo ...
during the 1940s. * The
Viet Cong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...
guerrillas used them throughout the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
in the 1960s and 1970s. * The OAS used them at the end of the
French rule in Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until the end of the Alg ...
in 1961 and 1962. * The
Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a secret society, criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of ...
used them to assassinate independent magistrates starting in the 1960s and up to the early 1990s. * The IRA used them frequently during its 1960s to 1990s campaign during
the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
and England. The 1998
Omagh bombing The Omagh bombing was a car bombing on 15 August 1998 in the town of Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It was carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army (Real IRA), a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) splinter group who op ...
by the
Real IRA The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), was a Dissident republican, dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that aimed to bring about a United Ireland. It was formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional Irish Republica ...
, an IRA splinter group, caused the most casualties in
the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
from a single car bomb.
Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
organisations in Northern Ireland of the 1960s and 1970s such as the
Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group based in Northern Ireland. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former Royal Ulster Rifles soldier from North ...
(UVF) and
Ulster Defence Association The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and undertook an armed campaign of almost 24 years as one of t ...
used car bombs against civilians in both
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
and the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
. The 1974 UVF bombs in Dublin and Monaghan caused the most casualties in a single day during
the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
. * Palestinian writer
Ghassan Kanafani Ghassan Fayiz Kanafani (; 8 April 1936 – 8 July 1972) was a prominent Palestinian literature, Palestinian author and Palestinian militant, militant, considered to be a leading novelist of his generation and one of the Arab world's leading Pa ...
was assassinated by a car bomb on 8 July 1972 with his 17-year-old niece Lamees Najim in
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
by the Israeli
Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...
. * Former
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
an General
Carlos Prats Carlos Prats González (; February 24, 1915 – September 30, 1974) was a Chilean Army officer and politician. He served as a minister in Salvador Allende's government while Commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army. He resigned in August 1973 am ...
was killed by a car bomb on September 30, 1974, along with his wife. * Freelance terrorist
Carlos the Jackal Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (; born 12 October 1949), also known as Carlos the Jackal () or simply Carlos, is a Venezuelan convict who conducted a series of assassinations and terrorist bombings from 1973 to 1985. A committed Marxist–Leninist, ...
claimed responsibility for three car bomb attacks on French newspapers accused of pro-Israeli bias during the 1970s. *
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
mobster
Danny Greene Daniel John Patrick Greene (November 14, 1933 – October 6, 1977) was an American mobster in Cleveland, Ohio, whose conflicts with the Cleveland crime family of the Italian-American Mafia ended in Greene's murder in 1977. Greene would build ...
frequently used car bombs against his enemies, beginning in 1968. Afterwards, they also began to be used against Greene and his associates. The use of car bombs in Cleveland peaked in 1976, when 36 bombs exploded in the city, most of them car bombs, causing it to be nicknamed "Bomb City." Several people, including innocent bystanders, were killed or wounded. Greene himself was finally killed in a car bomb explosion himself, on October 6, 1977. * Agents of the Chilean intelligence agency
DINA DINA may refer to: * Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (DINA), the Chilean secret police under the Pinochet regime * DINA S.A., a Mexican truck and bus manufacturer See also * Dina (disambiguation) * * DINO * DIN (disambiguation) DIN or Din or ...
were convicted of using car bombs to assassinate
Orlando Letelier Marcos Orlando Letelier del Solar (13 April 1932 – 21 September 1976) was a Chilean economist, politician, and diplomat during the presidency of Salvador Allende. A refugee from the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, Letelier ...
in 1976 and
Carlos Prats Carlos Prats González (; February 24, 1915 – September 30, 1974) was a Chilean Army officer and politician. He served as a minister in Salvador Allende's government while Commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army. He resigned in August 1973 am ...
in 1974, who were exiled opponents of dictator
Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...
. Letelier was killed in
Sheridan Circle Sheridan Circle is a traffic circle and park in the Sheridan-Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The traffic circle, one of two in the neighborhood, is the intersection of 23rd Street NW, Massachusetts Avenue NW, and R Street NW. The buil ...
, in the heart of
Embassy Row Embassy Row is the informal name for a section of Northwest Washington, D.C., with a high concentration of embassies, diplomatic missions, and diplomatic residences. It spans Massachusetts Avenue N.W. between 18th and 35th street, bounded ...
in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
* The
Tamil Tigers The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...
of
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
frequently made use of car bombs during that country's
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
in a campaign which lasted from 1976 until the group's defeat in 2009. * From 1979 to early 1983, under the guise of the
Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners The Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners (FLLF) (), or (FLLE) in French, was a formerly Israeli-backed obscure underground terrorist organization that surfaced in Lebanon at the early 1980s. According to Ronen Bergman, the fron ...
,
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
commanders
Rafael Eitan Rafael "Raful" Eitan (; 11 January 1929 – 23 November 2004) was an Israeli general, former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (Ramatkal) and later a politician, a Knesset member, and government minister. Early life Rafael Eitan was ...
, Avigdor Ben-Gal and Meir Dagan launched a campaign of bombings, including car, bicycle, and even donkey bombs. Initially conducted as a response to the killing of Israeli civilians at Nahariya. Largely indiscriminate in its targeting of those associated with the
Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...
in south, Lebanon, the FLLF attacks killed hundreds of Palestinians and Lebanese, mainly in
Tyre, Lebanon Tyre (; ; ; ; ) is a city in Lebanon, and one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It was one of the earliest Phoenician metropolises and the legendary birthplace of Europa (cons ...
,
Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...
and the surrounding PLO run refugee camps. After 1981, as part of Ariel Sharon's policy of goading the PLO into committing more acts of terror, justifying a military response, FLLF attacks escalated in intensity and scope, spreading to Beirut and northern Lebanon by September. The FLLF even took credit for fictional attacks on the IDF to maintain its cover as a Lebanese organisation. Its most prominent attack on October 1, 1981, in West Beirut killed at least 50 and injured over 250 people. Seven other similar bombs were found and defused before they could explode. * The German
Red Army Faction The Red Army Faction (, ; RAF ),See the section "Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang ( ), was a West German far-left militant group founded in 1970 and active until 1998, considered a terrorist organisat ...
occasionally used car bombs, such as in an unsuccessful attempt to attack a
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
school for officers in 1984. * The Basque separatist group (ETA) attempted their first car bomb assassination in September 1985 and carried out at least 80 massive car bomb attacks in Spain during the last decade before putting its activities on hold in 2011. * Constable Angela Taylor died on her way to collect lunch, the sole fatality of the Russell Street bombing in Melbourne, Australia on 27 March 1986. 22 others were injured. * On 23 November 1986, two members of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenians, Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, Literal translation, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalism, Armenian nationalist a ...
carried out the
Melbourne Turkish consulate bombing The Melbourne Turkish consulate bombing was an attempt to bomb the Turkish Consulate in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on 23 November 1986. A car bomb exploded in the basement car park, killing Hagop Levonian, one of the bombers, who was a me ...
using a car bomb, which resulted in the death of one of the attackers. * Suicide car bombs were a regular feature against Israel in the
1982 Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, also called the Second Israeli invasion of Lebanon, began on 6 June 1982, when Israel invaded southern Lebanon. The invasion followed a series of attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization ...
which lasted from 1982 until Israel's withdrawal in 2000. The bombing campaign was waged by several groups, most prominently
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
. * In the 1980s, the Colombian drug lord
Pablo Escobar Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (; ; 1 December 19492 December 1993) was a Colombian drug lord, narcoterrorist, and politician who was the founder and leader of the Medellín Cartel. Dubbed the "King of Cocaine", Escobar was one of the wealthie ...
used vehicle bombs extensively against government forces and population centers in Colombia and Latin America. The most notable car bombing attack was the 1989 DAS Building bombing, which killed 63 and injured about 1,000. Also, on July 4, 1989, a car bomb killed governor of Antioquia Antonio Roldán Betancur and five others; a prominent member of Escobar's Medellin Cartel later confessed to the crime. * During the Soviet–Afghan War of the 1980s, at a variety of training camps in the tribal areas of Pakistan, the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), with the aid of the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Britain's MI6, trained mujahideen in the preparation of car bombs. Car bombs became a regular occurrence during the war, the Afghan civil conflicts which followed, and then during the United States invasion of Afghanistan, U.S. invasion of Afghanistan from 2001 and the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), war in Afghanistan ending in 2021. * On 26 February 1993, (1993 World Trade Center bombing, World Trade Center bombing) Islamist terrorists led by Ramzi Yousef detonated a Ryder van filled with explosives in the parking garage of the World Trade Center (1973-2001), World Trade Center in
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 ...
. Yousef's plan had been to cause one of the towers to collapse into the other, destroying both and killing thousands of people. Although this was not achieved, six people were killed, 1,402 others injured, and extensive damage was caused. * On 18 April 1993, a tanker containing 500 kilograms of explosives exploded near the mosque in Vitez, destroying the offices of the Bosnian War Presidency, killing at least six people and injuring 50 others. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY accepted that this action was a piece of pure
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 ...
committed by elements within the Croats, Croat forces, as an attack on the Bosniak population of Stari Vitez - Vitez old town. Croatian Defence Council, HVO members tied a Bosniaks, Bosniak male civilian from a concentration camp to the steering wheel and set the truck in motion towards the old town. * On 20 October 1994,
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
-led bus bombing in Tel Aviv,
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
lead to the death of 22 civilians and the injury of 50. At that time, it was the deadliest suicide bombing in History of the State of Israel, Israeli history, and the Dizengoff Street bus bombing, first successful attack in Tel Aviv. * The Quebec Biker War that lasted from 1994 to 2002 involved the use of car bombings, including one that killed a drug dealer and an 11-year-old boy on 9 August 1995. * On 19 April 1995, Timothy McVeigh detonated a Ryder box truck filled with an explosive mixture of ANFO, ammonium nitrate fertilizer and fuel oil (ANFO) in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City during the
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 ...
, killing 168 people, including 19 children who were in the daycare. * On 25 June 1996, a truck bomb Khobar Towers bombing, destroyed the Khobar Towers military complex in Saudi Arabia, killing 19 United States Air Force (USAF) personnel and injuring 372 persons of all nationalities. * In the late 1990s and early 2000s, vehicular explosives were used by Chechen people, Chechen nationalists against targets in Russia. * On 20 April 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold planned to use two car bombs as the last act of the Columbine High School massacre, apparently to murder first responders. Both failed to explode.


21st century

*On 2 December 2001, a
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
assailant boarded a bus in Haifa, Israel, and then detonated himself, leading to Haifa bus 16 suicide bombing, the death of 15 civilians. *Southeast Asia-based militant Islamist group Jemaah Islamiyah utilized car bombs in their campaigns during the early 2000s, the most prominent being the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people. *Former Lebanon, Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri was assassinated by a car bomb during Assassination of Rafic Hariri, Valentine's Day of 2005. 21 others were also killed. *2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, A car bomb which had misfired was discovered in Times Square,
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 ...
on May 1, 2010. The bomb had been planted by Faisal Shahzad. Evidence suggests that the bombing was planned by the
Pakistani Taliban The Pakistani Taliban, officially the Tehreek-i-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current ...
. *On 2010 Stockholm bombings, 11 December 2010, a car bomb exploded in central Stockholm in Sweden, slightly injuring two bystanders. Twelve minutes later, an Iraqi-born Swedish citizen accidentally detonated six pipe bombs he was carrying, but only one exploded. The bomber was killed but there were no other casualties. It is believed that the attacks were the work of homegrown terrorists who were protesting Sweden's involvement in the war in Afghanistan and the publication in Sweden of cartoons depicting Muhammad. *On 22 July 2011, in the 2011 Norway attacks, Norway massacre, far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik detonated a car bomb within the Regjeringskvartalet, executive government quarter of Oslo, Norway, killing 8 people. *In 2013, Afghan security forces intercepted a truck bomb deployed by the Haqqani network, Haqqanis. It was the largest truck bomb ever built, with some 61,500 lbs of explosives. It was ultimately defused. The bomb was over 10 times the size of the car bomb used on the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. While the bomb was not detonated, it caused security changes throughout the region and the closure of the US Army base FOB Goode near Gardez. *During June 2015, in Ramadi, Iraq, a vehicle-borne IED resulted in the collapse of an 8-story tall building during battle between the Iraqi Army, Iraqi military and Islamic State, Daesh (ISIS). The Daesh truck bomb was fired upon by a rocket-propelled grenade to detonate it. *On 30 August 2016, Kurdish female soldier from YPJ, Asia Ramazan Antar, was killed in Manbij offensive (2016), Manbij offensive, when ISIS suicide bombers drove cars filled with explosives towards the Kurdish front. *On 16 October 2017, Maltese journalist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia died in a car bomb attack. *On 25 December 2020, a 2020 Nashville bombing, car bomb was detonated in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, injuring at least 8 and killing the perpetrator, Anthony Quinn Warner. * On 14 November 2021, a Liverpool Women's Hospital bombing, car bomb exploded outside of a women's hospital in Liverpool after a man detonated an IED suicide vest inside a taxi, killing him and severely injuring the driver. * During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian resistance during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian partisans have made extensive use of vehicular bomb attacks on Russian and collaborative officials in occupied areas, such as in the
2022 Crimean Bridge explosion On 8 October 2022, at 6:07 a.m., a fire broke out on the Crimean Bridge as a result of an explosion of a bomb loaded onto a truck, which occurred on the road bridge, on the westbound vehicle lanes running from Russia to Kerch in Russian ...
*On 20 August 2022, Aleksandr Dugin's daughter, Darya Dugina, was killed in Bolshiye Vyazyomy, Moscow Oblast by a bomb placed on Dugin's car. *In late February 2023, it was reported that the Russian Army attempted to use a MT-LB filled with OFAB-100-120 aerial bombs and mine-clearing charges from the UR-77 vehicle against Ukrainian positions. *On 18 June 2023, the Russian Army was documented as using a T-55 tank filled with approximately 6 tons of high explosives against entrenched Ukrainian Ground Forces, Ukrainian Forces near Marinka, Ukraine, Marinka, Donetsk Oblast with the intent of clearing the trenches. *On 10 September 2023, it was reported that Ukraine's 128th Mountain Assault Brigade (Ukraine), 128th Mountain Assault Brigade converted a captured T-62 tank into a VBIED filled with 1.5 tons of explosives and drove it against Russian positions in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Zaporizhzhia region. The tank hit a mine and exploded before it could reach the enemy positions. *On 13 July 2024, Thomas Matthew Crooks Attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, attempted to assassinate Donald Trump, the former president of the United States, at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. Crooks attempt was unsuccessful and he was killed in the process. Following his death, investigators found explosive devices in the trunk of his car, suggesting he planned to set off an explosion remotely as a possible distraction. *On January 1, 2025, at approximately 8:39 a.m. PST, a 2025 Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion, Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the main entrance of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. The driver, identified as 37-year-old U.S. Army Special Forces Sergeant Matthew Alan Livelsberger from Colorado Springs, Colorado, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound just before the explosion. Seven bystanders sustained minor injuries from the blast. *On May 17, 2025, at approximately 10:52 a.m. PDT, a silver 2010 Ford Fusion sedan loaded with explosives 2025 Palm Springs fertility clinic bombing, detonated outside the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, resulting in the death of the perpetrator and injuries to four others.


See also

* :Deaths by car bomb , Deaths by car bomb * Improvised explosive device (IED) * Insurgency * ''Kamikaze'' * Japanese Special Attack Units


Citations


Sources

*Mike Davis (scholar), Mike Davis, ''Buda's Wagon: A Brief History of the Car Bomb'' (Verso: New York, 2007). * * * *


External links


Video of a detected car bomb (VBIED) going off


(Asia Times)
"Explosive reading", review by Daniel Swift for the ''Financial Times''
{{Cold War Car bombs, Car crime, bomb Improvised explosive devices Gangland warfare tactics Guerrilla warfare tactics Terrorism tactics