Photo, above: A suicide bomber detonated explosives at a Lebanese restaurant frequented by foreigners in central Kabul late Friday 17 January, while two other bombers managed to get inside the restaurant and opened fire at the guests, killing 21 including 13 foreigners, according to officials. Two others, including the chef of the restaurant, Taverna, has been wounded.

The victims include the Afghanistan head of IMF, Wabel Abdallah, and four UN employees. A British national is also reportedly killed in the attack. The first explosion happened at 19:30 in the diplomatic district of Wazir Akbar Khan. Security forces reached the area and engaged in a two-hour gunfight with the two gunmen, who were resisting inside the building, said the Kabul police chief, Gen Zahir Zahir.

The restaurant maintains high security and has a reputation for serving foreign diplomats and aid workers. It's known to draw crowds on Friday nights.  See Hour 1, The Myth of Martyrdom: What Really Drives Suicide Bombers, Rampage Shooters, and Other Self-Destructive Killers... by Adam Lankford. What motivates a suicide bomber?  Turns out not to be religious mandates, or an irregular social conscience, or any of the romanticized rationales. Rather, it's the same impulse that motivates spectacular suicides, or any sort of mass murder: it grows from a difficult childhood, from depression, anxiety, marital strife, or professional failure. Lankford "takes readers on a journey through the minds of suicide bombers, airplane hijackers, ‘lone wolf’ terrorists, and rampage shooters, via their suicide notes, love letters, diary entries, and martyrdom videos. The result is an astonishing account of rage and shame that will transform the way we think of terrorism forever. Lankford convincingly demonstrates that only by understanding the psychological crises that precipitate these acts can we ever hope to stop them."

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

Hour One

Saturday 18 January 2014  / Hour 1, Block A: The Myth of Martyrdom: What Really Drives Suicide Bombers, Rampage Shooters, and Other Self-Destructive Killers... by Adam Lankford (1 of 4)

Saturday 18 January 2014  / Hour 1, Block B: The Myth of Martyrdom: What Really Drives Suicide Bombers, Rampage Shooters, and Other Self-Destructive Killers... by Adam Lankford (2 of 4)

Saturday 18 January 2014  / Hour 1, Block C: The Myth of Martyrdom: What Really Drives Suicide Bombers, Rampage Shooters, and Other Self-Destructive Killers... by Adam Lankford (3 of 4)

Saturday 18 January 2014  / Hour 1, Block D: The Myth of Martyrdom: What Really Drives Suicide Bombers, Rampage Shooters, and Other Self-Destructive Killers... by Adam Lankford (4 of 4)

Hour Two

Saturday 18 January 2014  / Hour 2, Block A: Strange Rebels: 1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century by Christian Caryl  (1 of 4)

Saturday 18 January 2014  / Hour 2, Block B: Strange Rebels: 1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century by Christian Caryl  (2 of 4)

Saturday 18 January 2014  / Hour 2, Block C: Strange Rebels: 1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century by Christian Caryl  (3 of 4)

Saturday 18 January 2014  / Hour 2, Block D: Strange Rebels: 1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century by Christian Caryl  (4 of 4)

Hour Three

Saturday 18 January 2014  / Hour 3, Block A: Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation by Yossi Klein Halevi  (1 of 4)

Saturday 18 January 2014  / Hour 3, Block B: Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation by Yossi Klein Halevi  (2 of 4)

Saturday 18 January 2014  / Hour 3, Block C: Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation by Yossi Klein Halevi  (3 of 4)

Saturday 18 January 2014  / Hour 3, Block D: Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation by Yossi Klein Halevi  (4 of 4)

Hour Four

Saturday 18 January 2014  / Hour 4, Block A: The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth by Mark Mazzetti (1 of 4)

Saturday 18 January 2014  / Hour 4, Block B: The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth by Mark Mazzetti (2 of 4)

Saturday 18 January 2014  / Hour 4, Block C: The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth by Mark Mazzetti (3 of 4)

Saturday 18 January 2014  / Hour 4, Block D: The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth by Mark Mazzetti (4 of 4)

..  ..  ..