Bra bomb
A bra bomb is a type of bomb worn by female suicide bombers. Concealing the explosives in a bra rather than a vest allows women to expose their midriffs during searches.[1] In 2007, a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber hid explosives in her bra and detonated herself outside the office of a Tamil minister.[2]
A notable high-profile attack involved Thenmuli Rajaratnam, who used a belt bomb or bra bomb in the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).[citation needed]
In the United States, airline passengers have filed complaints against the TSA regarding intrusive checks for bra bombs. These include a woman who was forced to remove her nipple piercings with pliers[3] and a mother who was instructed by airport security to place her infant on the ground.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Sri Lanka probing bra bomb". Rediff. July 14, 2004. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
The two constables who escaped with injuries have said the woman had shown them her bare midriff to indicate she was not wearing an explosives-filled jacket usually worn by suicide bombers, inspector Palitha Siriwardena said. "This points to the possibility that she was wearing a bra that had explosives in it," Siriwardena said.
- ^ "Tamil bra bomber targets Sri Lanka minister". Agence France-Presse. November 27, 2007. Archived from the original on January 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
Police investigators at the scene said the Tamil suicide bomber was disabled with polio and appeared to have wired her bra to explode when it was tampered with. She also died in the blast. Tiger suicide bombers usually don jackets with a manual detonating device around waist level, police said.
- ^ "Cbs5.com - TSA Forces Woman to Remove Nipple Rings for Flight". Archived from the original on 2009-01-26. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
- ^ "More TSA fun -- robot-brained airport security worker makes mother place infant on ground". Boing Boing. 21 January 2004.