Suicide attack
Suicide attacks include both Suicide terrorism—terrorism often defined as any action "intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants" for the purpose of intimidation—and suicide attacks not targeting non-combatants. An alternative definition is provided by Jason Burke, a journalist who has lived among Islamic militants, and suggests that most define terrorism as 'the use or threat of serious violence' to advance some kind of 'cause', stressing that terrorism is a tactic. Academic Fred Halliday, has written that assigning the descriptor of 'terrorist' or 'terrorism' to the actions of a group is a tactic used by states to deny 'legitimacy' and 'rights to protest and rebel'.
Symbolism of terrorism
The symbolic choices of terrorist targets are not only meant to send isolated messages, but reflect the greater symbolic rhetoric of terrorism in general. Terrorism, it has been argued, refutes the strategy of gaining ideological victory through a single act. Instead, "the rhetorical stance of terrorism... is patient, the chipping away at the symbolic or ideological foundation of its targets.” Each target is strategically chosen to fit into the greater message.