Fully explain the reasons why various bombs have been used as the most common terrorist tool.

Homemade bombs or improvised explosive devices (IEDs) type weapons continue to be popular with terrorists because the materials to construct them are readily available, relatively easy to build, and very destructive.  IEDs are also popular with terrorists because they can be as small as a pipebomb that can be carried on a person or placed in an area where there is a lot of human or vehicle traffic and are not easily detected.  Entire vehicles can also be made into IEDs, which cause mass casualties and destruction.  The materials used to build IEDs are easily accessible as well.  The common materials used to make an IED are garden fertilizer, gunpowder, hydrogen peroxide, and a fuel source, such as fuel oil.  Some examples of terrorist IED attacks are the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and the 1996 Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta (DHS, n.d.).

Fully explain the reasons why various bombs have been used as the most common terrorist tool.

For the same reasons IEDs are so popular with terrorists, so are the different variations of bombs.  Due to the ease of construction of various sizes of bombs that can be thrown or packed into a vehicle for a suicide attack or even mailed in a package, the sheer destructive power and ease of concealment make bombs the chosen weapon for terrorists.  Terrorists can also shape various types of bombs to explode in a specific direction to cause much more damage and death.  Additionally, due to the advancements in technology with cellphones and the internet, terrorists can configure various types of bombs to be detonated from many miles away (UNODC, n.d.).