An unusual warning. “DHS, FBI Warn of Possibility of Female Homicide Bombers,” from FoxNews (thanks to all who sent this in):
The growing use by terrorist groups of women “” some disguised as expectant moms “” to deliver deadly homicide bombs has prompted the Department of Homeland Security and FBI to issue a rare warning that such attacks could take place on American soil.
The joint security assessment cited recent female homicide bomber attacks in Baghdad “” in which two women who appeared to have Down syndrome delivered a deadly explosion that killed 99 “” as well as in Sri Lanka, Chechnya, India, Pakistan and the Palestinian territories as reason for the warning.
“Female suicide bombers may have an advantage over their male counterparts in accessing targets,” the analysis cautioned. “The means to conduct a suicide attack vary widely, but a key element in maximizing the lethality of a suicide bombing is the bomber’s ability to get close to the target.”
The assessment also strongly warned that potential female homicide bombers could use “prosthetic devices that mimic the look of a pregnant woman.”
“Regardless of delivery by a man or a woman,” the warning reads, “improvised explosive devices may contain fragmentation or shrapnel, such as nails, bolts, glass fragments, marbles, ball bearings, or other small metal pieces.”
The assessment, which emphasizes that DHS and FBI have no solid evidence indicating imminent homicide bombing attacks on U.S. soil, also reminds law enforcement officials that “facilities such as public places” are the most vulnerable to homicide bombing attacks and that “the terrorist’s latitude in determining and adjusting the target and timing of an attack up to the point of detonation” make it difficult to prepare countermeasures….