Teen bomber ‘thought virgins awaited him’
Hussam Abdo, 16, told the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot, he had learned about paradise in school.
“A river of honey, a river of wine and 72 virgins. Since I have been studying Koran I know about the sweet life that waits there,” he said.
He was caught on Wednesday with a suicide bomb vest strapped to his body at a crowded checkpoint. Soldiers, taking cover behind concrete barriers, sent a robot to bring scissors to the teen so he could cut off the vest and then made him strip to his underwear to ensure he was unarmed before detaining him.
Leaders in the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades denied they were responsible for dispatching the boy.
However, local members of the militant group in Nablus’ Balata refugee camp said they had sent the boy to the checkpoint. The teenager’s family said he was gullible and easily manipulated. “He doesn’t know anything, and he has the intelligence of a 12-year-old,” his brother, Hosni, said.
Abdo said he had been scared until he started nearing the roadblock. “But when the soldiers stopped me, I didn’t press the switch. I changed my mind. I didn’t want to die anymore,” he said. “I’m sorry for what I did.”
Several teenagers have carried out suicide bombings, and there is concern militant groups are turning to younger attackers to try to frustrate Israeli security checks.
Abdo looked far younger than 16, and the Israeli military initially said it believed he was 10-years-old. Abdo’s family said the teenager was not affiliated with any militant group, identifying with whichever one carried out the latest attack on Israelis.
His mother, Tamam, was furious at the militants who sent him. “He is a child and he should not be used for such things,” she said.
The family said Abdo acted strangely on Tuesday, giving sweets to his family and neighbours, and telling his mother he would do anything she wanted.“You never are like this,” she said. “What happened?”
“I just want you to be happy with me,” he replied.
Hosni Abdo said he was angry with whoever persuaded his brother to become a suicide bomber. “The ones who sent him are stupid, because the army will give him two slaps and he will tell them who sent him,” he said.
