Suicide bombings by women in Iraq

Some 50 women have carried out suicide attacks worldwide in the past five years, according to a report by Farhana Alia of the RAND Corp.

Since 2003, the report cites at least five suicide bombing cases in Iraq, including an Iraqi woman who traveled to Jordan but failed in her mission. It also includes a Belgian woman who converted to Islam, then went to Iraq.

April 3, 2003: Two women blew up a car at a checkpoint, killing themselves and three US Army Rangers in western Iraq.

Sept. 28, 2005: An Iraqi woman disguised as a man stood among job applicants before detonating an explosive belt outside a US military facility in the city of Tal Afar. Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack, calling her a "blessed sister" affiliated with the Malik Suicidal Brigade.

Nov. 9, 2005: A failed car bombing of US troops killed a female suicide bomber and injured one soldier. The bomber was later identified as Muriel Degauque from Belgium, who had converted to Islam after marrying a Moroccan man.

Nov. 13, 2005: Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi, an Iraqi from the city of Fallujah and a would-be suicide bomber, was arrested. She confessed on Jordanian TV that she had participated in a suicide bomb plot the previous week that killed 57 people at three hotels in Amman, Jordan. She said her explosives belt failed to detonate.

May 4, 2006: A female bomber removed an explosives-laden vest when she was denied access to a Baghdad courthouse and left it in a bag outside the building. It exploded and killed at least nine people and wounded 46.