The suicide bomber
as you can without causing chaos and alerting the bomber. Then get as far away as possible.
Sometimes, though, you will not have the time, you will not have the means, but your actions may still save many. If you decide to act you must do so decisively and aggressively, realizing that failure is not an option. If you mess things up, you must keep going. The lives of many may depend on it.
If you are the only person who can engage the bomber you must follow three guidelines:
- Control the bomber’s arms
- Assure that you do not detonate the bomb yourself by mistake; often, the bombers will wear the switch on their stomach, so if they are taken down on their stomach, the bomb will go off
- Deactivate the bomber. You do not want to fight a person with a bomb strapped to their body
The process
You should approach the bomber form the side or behind. Your arms should go toward the bomber’s shoulders, to assure you get a hold of his arm (if his arms are moving you may not catch them). Once you placed a hand on his shoulder you will slide it down and hook underneath it. The other hand will do the same on the other side, securing the bomber’s hands. Note that if the bomber is larger and stronger this may be a difficult task to accomplish, but taking down a suicide bomber on your own will never be simple. Make sure to perform these steps in an aggressive and violent manner to gain control over the bomber.
Once you secured his hands you should drop back and roll the bomber on his side. Make sure not to fall forward.
This is when the task gets really nasty. You must neutralize the target. Any attempt to hold him down, grapple, secure, or deal with the explosives will most likely result in the device going off and taking the bomber, you, and any bystanders with it. The most readily available lethal target from this given angle will likely be the jugular vain. A strong bite that would pierce through it will result in severe bleeding. An alternative will be to wrap a leg around the bomber to control him while you free one hand and use that one to execute any one of numerous possible actions to deactivate the bomber, such as: a strike to the trachea, deep penetrating eye gouge that would reach brain matter, or others.
The approach:
Conclusion
You should hope you never have to see whether this works, but if the moment comes and you must act to protect yourself, loved ones, or other innocent civilians, you must know what to expect and how to act to increase your chances of survival and that of those around you.
Tzviel (BK) Blankchtein, a defensive tactics instructor, is founder and president of Masada Tactical, and may be contacted through the company’s Web site. Readers may send him questions on topics and issues which are of interest to them. He will post some of these questions, and his answers to them, in the column.
