Pakistan: ‘TERROR’ DEATHS UP BY 37%: STUDY

http://newsweekpakistan.com/

THE 2014 GLOBAL TERRORISM INDEX REPORTS THAT 60 PERCENT OF TERROR-LINKED FATALITIES IN PAKISTAN OCCURRED DUE TO EXPLOSIONS.

The number of people killed in Pakistan in terrorist attacks jumped by 37 percent in 2013, reflecting the rise of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and its affiliated groups, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace

In its 2014 Global Terrorism Index, launched in London, the Australian-based research group reported there were 1,933 incidents in 2013, with 60 percent of the fatalities occurring due to bombings and explosions. “In 2013 there were 71 suicide attacks responsible for around 2,740 casualties,” it adds.

The report, which notes that over 80 percent of all global terror-related deaths occurred in just Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria, states that over 500 Pakistani cities had at least one terrorist incident in 2013, with “two or more incidents occurring in 180 cities.”

The Global Terrorism Index reports that there were almost 10,000 terrorist attacks in 2013, a 44 percent increase on 2012. These attacks resulted in 17,958 fatalities, up from 11,133 in 2012. Iraq was found to be the country most affected by terrorism, recording a 164 percent rise in fatalities, to 6,362, with the Islamic State responsible for most of the deaths. Four groups: I.S., Boko Haram, Al Qaeda and the Taliban were blamed for 66 percent of all fatalities. But the report found that attacks had also increased in the rest of the world, with fatalities rising by half the previous figure, to 3,236 in 2013.

A total of 60 countries recorded deaths from terrorist attacks last year.

“Since we first launched the GTI in 2012, we’ve seen a significant and worrying increase in worldwide incidences of terrorism,” said Steve Killelea, executive chairman of IEP. “Over the last decade the increase in terrorism has been linked to radical Islamic groups whose violent theologies have been broadly taught. To counteract these influences, moderate forms of Sunni theologies need to be championed by Sunni Muslim nations,” he added.

Killelea urged leaders to reduce state-sponsored violence, reduce group grievances and improve community-supported policing to reduce the threat.

The report highlighted Angola, Bangladesh, Burundi, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Iran, Israel, Mali, Mexico, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Uganda as countries at increased risk from terror attacks. Despite the global spike, the report stressed that the risk to westerners remained slim.

According to its figures, a person in Britain was 188 times more likely to be victim of a murder, and in the U.S. 64 times more likely.