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More Women Join Ranks of Suicide Bombers in Iraq
American and Iraqi government forces are facing a growing new threat: female suicide bombers.
Since Jan. 1, the U.S. military reports 14 female suicide bomb attacks in Iraq, up from eight in 2007. Preventing such attacks — which Iraqi government officials say have caused some of the highest numbers of casualties in Iraq in recent months — is a challenge.
"It's a new trend," said Farhana Ali, an international analyst with the Rand Corp. who has studied female participation in guerrilla movements from Latin America to Southeast Asia. "Never before in the history of Iraq have you seen women take on such a tactic as suicide terrorism."
Studying Would-Be Bombers
The U.S.-backed Iraqi government is conducting studies, trying to determine why women are choosing to commit suicide attacks.
In a videotaped interview, filmed by an Iraqi journalist working for NPR, an Iraqi woman named Um al Harith explained why she tried to become a suicide bomber. The 28-year-old wore a black veil during the interview to protect her identity, although she doesn't normally wear one in public.
It started, she said, when her beloved older brother Mohammed died fighting against U.S. troops in Diyala province, north of Baghdad.
"I collapsed. My life was destroyed," Harith said, her voice cracking.
"When I saw Americans in the street, or guards, or anyone who cooperated with them, I felt something inside me, like I wanted to tear them to pieces. Tear them to pieces. Cut them to pieces!" she repeated, shaking her head as she spoke. "Then one day my husband told me we were going to carry out an operation."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90367974