France found more affected by terror than Israel

Terror attacks targeted more countries in 2016, but fewer killed

Study records 25,673 terrorism-related deaths in 77 countries; notes significant decreases in Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan

Men carry a body after two car bombs exploded in Mogadishu on October 28, 2017.
 (AFP PHOTO / Mohamed ABDIWAHAB)
Men carry a body after two car bombs exploded in Mogadishu on October 28, 2017. (AFP PHOTO / Mohamed ABDIWAHAB)

LONDON — The number of people killed in terror attacks declined for the second successive year in 2016 but more countries were affected, according to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) released Wednesday.

Its report, produced by Australia’s Institute for Economics & Peace, found there were 25,673 deaths last year due to terror attacks — down 22 percent from a 2014 peak.

It noted significant decreases in Syria, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

However, 77 countries experienced at least one fatal attack, more than at any time in the 17-year history of the Global Terrorism Database, on which it is based.

The report also ranked nations in terms of their exposure to terror. Iraq experienced the most terrorism in 2017, followed by Afghanistan and Nigeria.

The Institute for Economics & Peace found that France, ranked 23, was affected more by terror than Israel and the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip — identified collectively by the study as “Palestine” — which were ranked 36 and 30, respectively.

A damaged Home Depot truck remains on the scene Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, after the driver mowed down people on a riverfront bike path near the World Trade Center on Tuesday in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

The data set, collated by America’s University of Maryland, is considered the most comprehensive of its kind globally.

The GTI called the falling victim numbers the “main positive finding” and “a turning point in the fight against radical Islamist extremism.”

It reported the biggest improvement in Nigeria, where terrorism deaths attributed to Boko Haram fell by 80% last year.

But deaths attributed to the Islamic State group increased by nearly half in 2016, with the majority of the rise — 40% — in Iraq.

The GTI found “disturbing” trends in the worldwide spread of terrorism.

A dozen more countries were the victim of a deadly strike last year than in 2015.

People display flowers and candles to pay tribute to the victims of the Barcelona and Cambrils attacks on the Rambla boulevard in Barcelona on August 22, 2017, five days after the attacks that killed 15 people. (AFP PHOTO / LLUIS GENE)

The report’s authors also warned of the potential for Islamic State fighters from Iraq and Syria to join new radical offshoots in other countries.

In Afghanistan, they described the picture as “complex” in 2016, as the Taliban reduced attacks against civilians but stepped up conflict with government forces.

In Europe and other developed countries, it was the deadliest year for terrorism since 1988, excluding the September 11 attacks in 2001, according to the GTI.

It blamed Islamic State activity for the continued spike there, with 75% of terror-related deaths in these countries directed or inspired by the organisation since 2014.

“There has been a general shift towards simpler attacks against non-traditional and softer civilian targets,” the authors noted.

However, they also found that Islamic State’s “diminishing capacity” had led to a sharp drop in the number of deaths in the first half of 2017.

Most Popular
read more: