The Use of the Mentally Disabled as Suicide Bombers in Iraq

By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq - On November 24, two suicide bombers struck downtown Baghdad outside the Green Zone killing at least 19 people.  One of the bombers is believed to be a mentally disabled woman, whose explosive vest was detonated by remote control.  The victims include a pregnant woman, two Iraqi soldiers and more than a dozen civilians.

This incident is the latest in a series of terrorist bombings that have utilized women to launch the attacks.  The bomb was exploded at a checkpoint where a line of workers were waiting to be searched before being permitted to enter the Green Zone.  The Green Zone, or International Zone, is home to Iraq's government offices and serves as the headquarters of US forces in Iraq. 

According to Baghdad Operations Command spokesman Brig. Gen. Qassim Atta, this latest incident highlights the fact that insurgents' increasingly use the mentally disabled as suicide bombers.  This tactic was first used in February 2008, when an attack at a Baghdad pet market resulted in the deaths of 99 people.  In addition, the use of women as suicide bombers has increased over the past year, as the insurgents have begun training women who are related to insurgents who have been killed since the start of the war in 2003.

Over the weekend there were several other bombings throughout Iraq, including a second attack on the morning of November 24, where another new tactic of the insurgents, the "sticky bomb" was placed on the side of a bus, killing at least 13 females and wounding several others.  According to an official at the Ministry of Trade, the victims were all government employees en route to their jobs.  In a third attack that day, a roadside bomb went off in the eastern part of the city targeting a police car.

It is believed that this latest increase in the number of terrorist bombings in and around Baghdad was designed to coincide with the Iraqi Parliament's upcoming vote on an agreement that determines the terms of the continued U.S. troop presence in Iraq.  The agreement currently being discussed would allow for US forces to remain in Iraq for three more years, after the UN mandate that authorizes their presence expires at the end of this year.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera - Women Killed in Baghdad Blasts - 24 November 2008

BBC - Deadly Bomb Attacks Hit Baghdad  - 24 November 2008

CNN - Official: Female Bomber was Disabled; Vest Ignited by Remote - 24 November 2008

UPI - Iraqi Bomber was Mentally Disabled Woman - 24 November 2008