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#REDIRECT [[Animal-borne bomb attacks]]
There have been at least documented incidents of '''[[donkey]]s being used to deliver [[improvised explosive device|bombs]].''' Both occurred in [[Middle East]]ern conflicts in the [[2000s]] .
==West Bank==
One donkey was exploded near a checkpoint in the [[West Bank]] town of [[Bethlehem]] on [[January 26]], [[2003]]. No humans died in the attack, and it was uncertain as to whether the attack was meant specifically to kill [[Israel]]i soldiers; the attack coincided with Israeli advances into the [[Gaza Strip]].
The attack did provoke a response from [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals|PETA]] president [[Ingrid Newkirk]], who, after receiving many complaints, wrote a letter to [[Palestinian territories|Palestinian]] President [[Yasser Arafat]] asking him to encourage others to "leave the animals out of this conflict". In the letter, she cited historical examples of [[United States|US]], [[United Kingdom|UK]], and [[Al Qaeda]]-sponsored abuses of other animals in conflicts, specifically noting [[dog]]s were simply left in [[Vietnam]] by the US during the [[Vietnam War]], despite the fact that they were "loyal." She thus came to the conclusion that:
:''"Animals claim no nation. They are in perpetual involuntary servitude to all humankind, and although they pose no threat and own no weapons, human beings always win in the undeclared war against them. For animals, there is no [[Geneva Convention]] and no peace treaty—just our mercy."''
==Iraq==
In [[Ramadi]], [[Iraq]], in [[2004]] a donkey was loaded with explosives and set off towards a US-run checkpoint. It exploded before it was able to injure or kill anybody but itself. The incident, along with a number of similar incidents involving dogs, fuelled fears of terrorist practices of using living animals as weapons, a change from an older practice of using the bodies of dead animals to hold explosives. To one official, this was a simple variation of using "mentally retarded people for operations during the elections." A colonel added that "using people and animals" was a practice that seemed to be replacing "[[car bombs]]."
==See also==
* [[Exploding animal]]
==References==
* [[CBS]] news: [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/27/world/main538044.shtml Israel Moves Deep Into Gaza] January 26, 2003.
* [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals|PETA]] [http://www.peta.org/feat/arafat/ Leave the Animals in Peace: PETA's letter to Yasser Arafat] February 3, 2003.
* [[The Standard]] (originally from [[The Los Angeles Times]]): [http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Focus/GH12Dh02.html Dogs of war can be friend or foe] August 12, 2005.
{{Exploding organisms}}
[[Category:Exploding animals|Donkey, exploding]]
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