There are several means and ways that terrorists apply in order to maim and murder individuals. Since the recent times, most terror groups such as Al Qaida have been innovative and came up with new ways to launch the attacks. Some of the methods employed include the use of bombings, suicide attacks, vehicle-based attacks, aircraft hijackings, bioterrorism and use of firearms among others(Abrahms, 2008). This paper investigates the methods and motives of various terrorist attacks.

Car Bombing

In a terrorist attack in China, bombs were tossed out of car windows killing 31 people (Los Angeles Times, 2014). The attack occurred when the bombers hauled bomb explosives to a crowd in a northwestern China Market and the cars subsequently exploding.

Motive

The terrorist attack is largely associated to have been carried out by Uighurs that is a Turkic-speaking population of the Muslim. This group inhabits the Xinjiang, which is located in northwestern China. The attacks were as a result of the group claiming that their religion and freedom of movement were being infringed. Additionally, it is seen as retaliatory mission on the ethnic group of Han Chinese who have moved to the area rendering the Uighurs minority (Abrahms, 2008).

Suicide Attacks

This focuses on the suicide bombing that occurred in Volgograd, Russia, which claimed lives of 17 (Russian Times, 2013). In this incident, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb upon seeing a police officer as they advanced towards the metal detector in the entrance of the railway building(O’Loughlin, Holland &Witmer, 2011). The device that was used in explosion was stuffed in pieces of scrap metal then detonated

Motive

It is an attack that was seen as a way of destabilizing the Russian government both in political terms and economically. It is believed to have been carried out by the Jihadi groups occupying the Caucasus region in Russia(O’Loughlin, Holland &Witmer, 2011). This was a way to silence the Russian government and its continued interference in world affairs.

Truck Bombings- US Embassies in East Africa Bombed

The embassy is bombing in 1998 in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam was a series of attacks launched by the Al Qaida terrorist group (History, 1998). In Nairobi, the terrorists had bought a villa Dyna in Nairobi and Nissan Atlas refrigeration truck in Tanzania’s capital. A cage was formed in the back of the Nissan using six metal bars to lodge the bomb. In Tanzania, the terrorist group rented a house near the US embassy from where they would fling the bombs. The bomb components that were hauled were hidden in rice sacks (History, 1998). In Kenya, the explosives used were packed in approximately twenty wooden crates and then placed in the bed of the trucks with a detonator switch on the dashboard. The vehicles were driven and exploded on the embassy.

Motivation

The bombing of the US embassies in East Africa was a revenge strategy for the increased interference of America in world affairs. The alleged interference was their involvement in extradition and torture of four members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad(Ploch, 2010). The four individuals had earlier been arrested in Albania before the attacks.

Aircraft Attacks and Hijackings- Twin Towers in US

This focuses on 9/11 attacks on the twin towers in US that was carried out by Islamist extremist group, al-Qaeda claiming the lives of 2977 people(BBC, 2014). The 19 terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes and hijacked them in the upper floors of the North and South towers of the World Trade Center complex and the third plane into the Pentagon. However, the fourth plane, Flight 93, was crashed in a field in western Pennsylvania(Hoffman, 2002).

Motive

This was an attack aimed at silencing the US government and combatting the continual interference it has had on world affairs, as well as the US fight of terrorism. Given that the terrorists were not able to destroy the US military, they interfered with America’s economic power and prosperity hub, the World Trade Center(Hoffman, 2002). By attacking these areas, Al-Qaeda anticipated that Americans would fear and weaken in terms of their World standing. It was also a way through which the group would get the support of the US in their political and religious discourse in Middle East and the Muslim world.