| ID | 191470 |
| Title Proper | How Do Leadership Decapitation and Targeting Error Affect Suicide Bombings? The Case of Al-Shabaab |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Ibrahim Shire, Mohammed |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Targeted killing is a cornerstone of counter-terrorism strategy, and tactical mistakes made by militant groups are endemic in terrorism. Yet, how do they affect a militant group’s suicide bomber deployment? Since joining Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab has carried out various types of suicide attacks on different targets. Using a uniquely constructed dataset, I introduce two typologies of suicide bomber detonation profiles – single and multiple – and explore the strategic purposes these have served for the group during multiphasic stages following targeted killings against the group’s leadership and targeting errors committed by Al-Shabaab. The findings reveal that targeted killing has the opposite effect of disrupting suicide attacks, instead, leading to a rapid proliferation of unsophisticated single suicide attacks against civilian and military targets to maintain the perception of the group’s potency. Thus, I argue that targeting errors made by Al-Shabaab have a more serious detrimental effect on its deployment of suicide attacks than any counter-terrorism measure. |
| `In' analytical Note | Studies in Conflict and Terrorism Vol. 46, No.4-6; Apr-Jun 2023: p.682-702 |
| Journal Source | Studies in Conflict and Terrorism Vol: 46 No 4-6 |
| Key Words | Case of Al-Shabaab |