Suicide attack
Suicide bombing
The term "suicide bombing" dates back to at least 1940 when a New York Times article mentioned the term in relation to German tactics. Less than two years later, the New York Times referred to a Japanese kamikaze attempt on an American carrier as a "suicide bombing". In 1945, The Times of London referred to a kamikaze plane as a "suicide-bomb". Two years later, it referred to a new British pilot-less, radio-controlled rocket missile as originally designed "as a counter-measure to the Japanese 'suicide-bomber'."
Religious terminology for attackers and victims
All Abrahamic religions forbid suicide. Suicide and suicide attempts have been decriminalised in most of the western world, but remain criminalised in some countries, such as Afghanistan, Nigeria, Palestine, and others. Terminology relating to this sin or crime is used by Jews, Christians, and Muslims to condemn suicide attackers (see also above), different terminology is usually used to describe self sacrifice that they believe is justified, including actions their enemies label suicide attacks (see below).
Suicide attack
A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack) in which the perpetrators intentionally end their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is often associated with terrorism or war. When the attackers are labelled as terrorists, the attacks are sometimes referred to as an act of suicide terrorism. Military use of suicide is not directly regulated by international law, but suicide attacks sometimes violate prohibitions against perfidy or targeting civilians. Suicide attacks have occurred in various contexts, ranging from military campaigns—such as the Japanese kamikaze pilots during World War II (1944–1945)—to more contemporary Islamic terrorist campaigns—including the September 11 attacks in 2001. Suicide attacks have been used by a wide range of political ideologies, from far-right (Japan and Germany in WWII) to far-left (such as the PKK and JRA).
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