Duhs aside, it's no more reatrded than such terms as "public servant" or "blue collar worker". Neither of those is always accurate, but we know what they mean. Same goes for either term here.
The only reason anyone knows what is meant by homicide bomber is because inside our brains we translate it to normal english. You hear "homicide bomber," and you understand what you are hearing is the right's politically correct way of saying suicide bomber. It's so stupid it's embarrassing. From now on, let's refer to WW2 kamakazi pilots as "homicide pilots." That's be just as assenine.