I think that it has to do with the extremism that has moved to the forefront - and how that has changed definitions. where committing suicide in the quiet of your room may be a dishonorable thing, carrying out a homicide bombing isn't a suicide, so much as it may be considered dying while attacking the kfir.
Do you think this is a variant of a particular type of Islam, ie., Wahabbism? It would be worth knowing if all of the homicide bombers were of a particular "sect" or approach to Islam.