So, was shooting her before blowing her to Paradise some sort of insult?
I mean if you are laced up with bathtub C3 (or whatever) then why not run at her and tackle her and click your ruby slippers together? Why shoot her and then blow yourself up if not to rub something in?
I think the suicide bomber part is harder to understand.
In many parts of the world being captured will result in torture for information and end with execution. Especialy after killing an official in an assassination.
A firearm is better for fighting and trying to live and escape. If that option fails becoming a human bomb becomes a backup plan.
I would venture that a decent number of "suicide" bombers are that type, and don't actualy plan to blow themselves up unless they are about to be arrested/captured, or are mortaly wounded.
Others are pawns and do not even know they are a suicide bomber, instead thinking they are delivering something, transporting something, driving to a location etc, and are detonated remotely by those using them as pawns. Some car bombs are this type. In fact several in Iraq are known to have been this type. They are reported as suicide bombers by the groups though because that shows more fanatical dedication to a cause, giving the organization more "respect."
Only some suicide bombings are planned as suicide bombings from the start, and known as such by the person blown up/deliverer.
Imagine fighting a group of people wired to explode as a backup plan. It would be virtualy impossible to clear a building with such people. Military/swat type raids would fail. Gunfire would be exchanged until the paramilitary group began to gain the advantage at which point they would be blown up.
Very stable explosives resistant to even blows from bullets with strong casing also can work as ballistic vests, stopping many small arms rounds, and being woven on the outside of materials used as soft body armor. The explosives would function as armor plates.
So it is not all dead weight, and has a dual function.
If someone was an extremist it could be a very attractive option for high risk events where death or capture is a very likely possibility.
If such a device was tied directly to a human's pulse with a delay it could even function to explode after they were killed with enough delay to allow others to close in, or to remedy the situation if still alive by disabling it(ha don't accidentaly disconnect the sensor.)
A simplier measure could be a timer that must be reset every so often for the duration of a mission in addition to the manual control. Of course such a device can be equiped with multiple obstacles to insure it explodes if intionaly tampered with by someone that does not know the design.
All around it is a very viable backup in a climate of torture, execution, and fanaticism. If captured they will be killed anyways (after some torture.) Taking out the team that is fighting or kills them in a firefight sure beats just being taken out.
Consider it a force multiplier.
So as much as we are all programmed by the media to assume suicide bombers left with the plan of blowing themselves up, I think that only accounts for some of the incidents, and it is used as plan B many times in the face of overwhelming opposition and assured defeat/capture when the option to run and fight again another day no longer exists.
Also the gun in a picture could be any number of firearms on the scene. Including those carried by security personel or bodyguards.
