Bicycle bomb explained

A bicycle bomb (or bike bomb) is an improvised explosive device that is placed on a bicycle.

History

United Kingdom

• The IRA used bicycle bombs twice in Northern Ireland and once at a British military facility in Germany.^[1]
  • 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.^[2]
  • In 1979 a bomb exploded in package carried in a mailbag on a postman's bicycle in Streatley, Berkshire.
  • 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.^[3]
  • 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.^[4] The facility was removed in the early 2000s as part of the Belfast Agreement.

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.

Pakistan

• A bicycle bomb exploded in a suburb of Quetta on 24 May 2004, wounding 15 police and militiamen traveling in a police truck.

Afghanistan

• In Kandahar in the main square at least 15 people were wounded by a bicycle bomb.^[5]
• In 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.^[6]
• In Kabul on 10 October 2006, a bicycle bomb exploded near a police bus, wounding 11 police officers and civilians.^[7]

Germany

• In 1989, Alfred Herrhausen, chairman of Deutsche Bank, was killed by a sophisticated bomb hidden in a parked bicycle.

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.^[8]
• August 2009, a bicycle bomb explodes near a restaurant in Baghdad killing two people.

India

• 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 90 people and injuring hundreds more.
• 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.
• Twin bomb blasts at Dilsukhnagar (Hyderabad)on Feb 21st,2013, 18 Killed and 40 Injured.

Russia

• On August 21, 2009, in Grozny, Chechnya, alleged suicide bombers approached police checkpoints on bicycles before blowing themselves up, killing and wounding several people.^[9]

Gaza

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.^[10]

Spain

On 28 June 2001, a parcel bomb planted by the ETA on a bicycle exploded in Madrid, injuring at least 10 people.^[11]

In popular culture

• The 1955 novel The Quiet American by Graham Greene describes the use of bicycle bombs in Saigon.
• 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.

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.

Notes and References

1. Web site: House of Commons Hansard Debates for 8 Jul 1994. Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. Westminster. publications.parliament.uk.
2. https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo. The bicycle was purchased on HP from Halfords and modified in a terraced house in Coventry. The bomb was a liquid explosive, in a bottle concealed in a book carried on the bicycle. The remains of the bicycle are in the Coventry Police's "Black Museum". Schrapnel from the blast is reported to have travelled over 2 miles /countdown_390828_mon_01.shtml
3. Web site: IRA confirms it planted seaside bicycle bombs: Police seek tourist. Independent.co.uk. 16 August 1994.
4. Web site: Castles of the North, by Jonathan Olley (2003).
5. Web site: CNN.com - Afghan bicycle bomb injures 15 - Dec. 6, 2003. www.cnn.com.
6. Web site: Bicycle Bomb Kills Locals, Injures German Soldier - Germany- News and in-depth reporting from Berlin and beyond - DW - 22.02.2006. DW.COM.
7. Web site: Bicycle bomb near police bus injures 11 in Kabul.
8. News: CNN.com - Deadly bombs hit Iraqi markets - Jun 26, 2006 . CNN . April 26, 2020.
9. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8214017.stm Police die in Grozny explosions
10. Book: Cordesman. Anthony. The Israeli-Palestinian War: Escalating to Nowhere. 2005. Greenwood. 0275987582. 198. 5 June 2017.
11. Web site: EL CORREO DIGITAL | POLÍTICA - Atentados de ETA desde la ruptura de la última tregua.