Bicycle bomb
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A bicycle bomb – or bike bomb – is an improvised explosive device (IED); it consists of an explosive charge and an initiation system placed on or inside a bicycle.
History
Afghanistan
- On 6 December 2003 in the main square of Kandahar at least 15 people were wounded by a bicycle bomb.[2]
- On February 2006 in the city of Kunduz as a result of a bicycle bomb two Afghans were killed and a German Bundeswehr soldier (from ISAF) was injured.[3]
- On 10 October 2006, in Kabul, a bicycle bomb exploded near a police bus, wounding 11 police officers and civilians.[4]
Gaza
- Netzarim Junction bicycle bombing: A suicide bombing occurred on November 11, 1994, at the Netzarim Junction, an Israeli Army checkpoint located in the Gaza Strip. In the attack, three Israeli soldiers were killed and six Israeli soldiers and six Palestinians were wounded.[5]
- On 19 May 2003 a 19 year-old Hamas militant strapped explosives to the back of his bicycle in the Gaza Strip and rode it alongside an Israeli Army vehicle, detonating it, killing himself and injuring 3 Israeli soldiers.[6]
Germany
- On 30 November 1989, Alfred Herrhausen, chairman of Deutsche Bank, was killed by a sophisticated bomb – probably an explosively formed penetrator/projectile (EFP) or a platter charge – hidden in a satchel on a bicycle parked beside the route of his bullet-proof Mercedes limousine.[7]
India
- On 28 January 2003, a bomb exploded near the Vile Perle Station, killing 1 and injuring 25 others.[8]
- Jaipur bombings: In the Indian city of Jaipur a series of seven bomb blasts took place within a span of twelve minutes on 13 May 2008, killing at least 80 people and injuring hundreds more.[9][10]
- In Ahmedabad, largest city of the state of Gujarat, 45 were killed in a series of 17 blasts which took place within 1 hour on the evening of July 28, 2008.
- In Hyderabad,Telangana on 21 February 2013, two bombs exploded, killing 18 and injuring 131.
Iraq
- In the Iraqi city of Baqubah according to the police at least 25 people were killed in a bicycle bombing on 26 June 2006.[11]
- August 2009, a bicycle bomb explodes near a restaurant in Baghdad killing two people.[12]
Pakistan
- A bicycle bomb exploded in a suburb of Quetta on 24 May 2004, wounding 13 police and soldiers travelling in a truck.[13]
Russia
- On 21 August 2009, in Grozny, Chechnya, alleged suicide bombers approached police checkpoints on bicycles before blowing themselves up, killing and wounding several people.[14]
Spain
- On 28 June 2001, a parcel bomb planted by the ETA on a bicycle exploded in Madrid, injuring at least 10 people.[15]
Sri Lanka
- On 30 August 2001 a time bomb tied to a bicycle exploded in the coastal town Kalmunai, killing two policemen and a bystander.[citation needed]
United Kingdom
- The IRA used bicycle bombs twice in Northern Ireland and once at a British military facility in Germany.[16]
- 1939 Coventry bombing: On 25 August 1939 an IRA bicycle bomb exploded in Coventry, killing five people. The bomb had been left in the basket of a bicycle.[17]
- In 1979 a bomb exploded in package carried in a mailbag on a postman's bicycle in Streatley, Berkshire.
- On 13 August 1994, two bombs were planted in bags placed on bicycles in Brighton and Bognor Regis. The Bognor one detonated damaging shops but no casualties; the Brighton one was defused.[18]
- No information is available on the bomb detonated at a British military installation in Germany.
- On 8 August 1976, a member of the Parachute Regiment, Private Robert (Bob) Borucki, was killed by the explosion of a bomb planted inside a basket of a bicycle at Crossmaglen. Borucki is buried in the cemetery in the village of Wales, near Rotherham. A year later, a sangar named after the soldier was built on the spot.[19] The facility was removed in the early 2000s as part of the Belfast Agreement.
Vietnam
- During the Vietnam War, among the various types of IEDs constructed by the Viet Cong there were also bicycle bombs, used as sabotage devices.[1][20]
In popular culture
- The 1955 novel The Quiet American by Graham Greene describes the use of bicycle bombs in Saigon.[21]
- The movie Charlie Wilson's War mentions the need for bicycle bombs in the Afghanistan resistance of the USSR.
- There is a band called This Bike is a Pipe Bomb, and bicycles bearing the band's stickers have caused false evacuations at airports and universities.[22][23]
References
- ^ a b United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (1965). VC - NVA Employment of Mines & Booby Traps (PDF). Saigon: Combined Intelligence Center, Vietnam. pp. 170–171. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2026.
- ^ "Afghan bicycle bomb injures 15". cnn.com. 6 December 2003. Archived from the original on 16 February 2004.
- ^ "Bicycle Bomb Kills Locals, Injures German Soldier". dw.com. 22 February 2006. Archived from the original on 13 February 2025.
- ^ "Bicycle bomb near police bus injures 11 in Kabul". cbc.ca. 10 October 2006. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016.
- ^ Haberman, Clyde (13 November 1994). "Palestinians Arrest 100 Islamic Militants After Bicycle Bombing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
- ^ Cordesman, Anthony (2005). The Israeli-Palestinian War: Escalating to Nowhere. Greenwood. p. 198. ISBN 0275987582. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
- ^ Hambling, David. "Superbomb Mystery: The Herrhausen Assassination". Wired. Archived from the original on 17 April 2014.
- ^ "1 killed, 25 hurt in Vile Parle blast". The Times of India. 28 January 2003. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
- ^ "Bombings Kill 80 in Western India". Novinite - Sofia News Agency. 14 May 2008. Archived from the original on 13 August 2025.
- ^ "Jaipur blasts: RDX used, HuJI suspected". The Times of India. 14 May 2008. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 22 January 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ^ "Deadly bombs hit Iraqi markets". CNN. 26 June 2006. Archived from the original on 28 June 2006. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ Salaheddin, Sinan (20 August 2009). "Bicycle bomb kills 2 near restaurant in Baghdad". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2 October 2026. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
- ^ "Pakistan 'bomb blast wounds 13'". BBC News. 24 May 2004. Archived from the original on 28 May 2004. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
- ^ "Police die in Grozny explosions". BBC New. 21 August 2009. Archived from the original on 26 August 2009. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
- ^ "Atentados de ETA desde la ruptura de la última tregua". elcorreo.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 July 2011.
- ^ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 8 Jul 1994". publications.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Fielder, Mark. "Countdown to World War Two: Monday 28 August 1939". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 July 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Following last Friday's bicycle bomb murder of five people in Coventry, a large number of workers went on strike in the city today. They were protesting at having to work with Irish labour. The IRA was blamed for the explosion, which also injured 100 people. The bomb had been left in the basket of a bicycle.
- ^ "IRA confirms it planted seaside bicycle bombs: Police seek tourist". Independent.co.uk. 16 August 1994. Archived from the original on 15 January 2026.
- ^ Olley, Jonathan (2003). "Castles of the North" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2024.
- ^ TC 5-31 Viet Cong Boobytraps, Mines, and Mine Warfare Techniques (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Headquarters, Department of the Army. December 1969. pp. 4-10 – 4-11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2025.
- ^ Greene, Graham (1965) [1955]. The Quiet American. New York: The Viking Press. pp. 184, 186–187, 207.
- ^ "Bike Sparks Scare At Ohio University". WCMH, Columbus, OH. 2 March 2006. Archived from the original on 24 March 2006.
- ^ Lee, Lauren (16 February 2009). "Sticker Causes Memphis Airport Scare". WHBQ FOX13. Archived from the original on 19 February 2009.
External links
- Afghan bicycle bomb injures 15 - CNN - December 6 2003
- Bicycle Bomb Kills Locals, Injures German Soldier - Deutsche Welle - February 22 2006
- Bicycle bomb near police bus injures 11 in Kabul - CBC News - October 10 2006
- Bicycle bombs and the fourth policeman John Adams explores the lack of evidence for existence of pipe bombs disguised as bicycles.