Human bombs putting explosives in body

BBC:

Security and intelligence experts are deeply worried by a new development in suicide bombing, the BBC has learned.

It has emerged that an al-Qaeda bomber who died last month while trying to blow up a Saudi prince in Jeddah had hidden the explosives inside his body.

Only the attacker died, but it is feared that the new development could be copied by others.

Experts say it could have implications for airport security, rendering traditional metal detectors "useless".

Last month's bombing left people wondering how one of the most wanted al-Qaeda operatives in Saudi Arabia could get so close to the prince in charge of counter-terrorism that he was able to blow himself up in the same room.

Western forensic investigators think they have the answer, and it is worrying them profoundly.

The explosives, they believe, were detonated by mobile phone.

...

But there, once he got next to his target, the bomb inside him was detonated.

Miraculously the prince survived with minor injuries, but footage emerging this week shows a sizeable crater in the concrete floor and the bomber's body blown in half.

It is believed the force of the blast went downwards which is why only the bomber died.

It looks like they have not mastered the art of shaping the charge so the blast goes outward. That suggest the body cavity they used directed the blast downward probably through the anus. If they used metal, the detectors would have read it. Shrapnel buried in body tissue will usually trip the detector so there is no reason it would not detect that in a body cavity. My speculation is that the bomb did not use metal.

This does appear to be part of an increasingly desperate attempt by al Qaeda to stay relevant as the world closes in on them. I think the recent spat of failed attacks are also a reflection of that desperation.