CRC Press Terrorist Suicide Bombings: Attack Interdiction, Mitigation, and Response

Urban environments are prime targets for suicide bombings over the next decade. While the threat may be ever-present, measures are available that can empower law enforcement personnel to thwart attacks, or at least mitigate the effects by reducing casualties. Written by professionals with first-hand experience, Terrorist Suicide Bombings: Attack Interdiction, Mitigation, and Response helps first responders, law enforcement, and homeland security professionals grapple with this increasing threat, offering best practices in the field and lessons learned. Advance preparation The authors provide specific instructions on how to fortify possible suicide bombing targets, suggesting measures that―if implemented―will reduce casualties. They explain how suicide bombers operate and what weapons they are likely to employ. They also debunk common myths about suicide bombers that jeopardize successful interdiction. Actual case studies Including graphic photos depicting the aftermath of actual bombing scenes, the book projects the reader into the chaos of a bomb scene. Chapters describe what one encounters at a site immediately after a bombing and explain what each first responder should and should not do. Case studies throughout enhance the text, explaining why certain suicide bombings succeed while others fail. Psychological effects The book also explores how terrorists seek to exploit the media and describes government and media efforts to diffuse the bombers’ self-promotion. A full chapter is devoted to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition that commonly affects many first responders. Finally, the book closes with recommendations aimed at helping law enforcement defend against suicide bombers. About the Author Mordecai Z. Dzikansky spent his 25-year police career (1983-2008) with the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Appointed to the NYPD, in 1983 he served as a uniformed patrolman for two years in Brooklyn North. In 1985 he began his career in investigations, ultimately rising to the NYPD's highest detective rank. Through 2002, he served in various units including the Organized Crime Control Bureau, Midtown North Detective Squad and the elite Manhattan South Homicide Squad. In addition, Dzikansky was selected to work on terror related investigations, including the murders of Israeli Knesset member Meir Kahane (1990) and Ari Halberstam (Brooklyn Bridge murder, 1994). Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly appointed Dzikansky as the first NYPD Intelligence Division Overseas Liaison to the Israel National Police (INP) to provide on-site intelligence analysis of suicide bombings in Israel and elsewhere. From 2003 to 2006, Dzikansky responded in person and analyzed 21 suicide bombing sites, in Israel and attacks globally: in Russia, Egypt, Spain and Turkey. Dzikansky also worked with senior members of the Israeli intelligence community on joint investigations related to New York City and the State of Israel. Dzikansky retired from the NYPD in 2008. He has written numerous articles and is the author of Terrorist Cop: The NYPD Jewish Cop Who Traveled the World to Stop Terrorists (2010). He is an Associate of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, Herzliya, Israel and has appeared as a featured speaker at its annual international conferences on global terrorism. Gil Kleiman spent 23 years (1983-2006) with Israel’s national police force as a bomb squad technician, attorney, security-training officer, homicide detective, and police spokesman. In 1980, he received his undergraduate degree in history from George Washington University and a law degree from Bar Ilan University in Israel in 1991. From 1983 to 1987, Kleiman was a Tel Aviv-based bomb disposal technician and an instructor in the Israel Police Bomb Squad training school. He also worked in the Security Division of the Israel Police (1997-2001), advising officials at Government installations on security preparation