TerrorismMilitant attacks caused fewer fatalities in 2017
In 2017, militants conducted 22,487 attacks worldwide, down 7.1 percent from 24,202 in 2016, according to the annual Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center (JTIC) Global Attack Index released Thursday. The 2017 attack figure decreased only slightly compared to 2016, but the resultant 18,475 non-militant fatalities represented a much more significant 33 percent decrease year on year, and an even larger 45 percent decrease from the average fatality total over the preceding five years. More than 700 suicide attacks were conducted in 2017, causing almost 4,000 fatalities – a slight increase in attacks from 2016 but a more than one-third decline in fatalities. The upcoming World Cup in Russia in June likely presents a particularly attractive target for the Islamic State, given Russia’s role in the group’s territorial defeat in addition to the participation of the Saudi and Iranian national teams.
Militant attacks north of Iraq's Tikrit killed twelve // Source: tasminnews.com/yahoo.com
In 2017, militants conducted 22,487 attacks worldwide, down 7.1 percent from 24,202 in 2016, according to the annual Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center (JTIC) Global Attack Index released Thursday by IHS Markit. “While the 2017 attack figure decreased only slightly compared to 2016, the resultant 18,475 non-militant fatalities represented a much more significant 33 percent decrease year on year, and an even larger 45 percent decrease from the average fatality total over the preceding five years,” said Matthew Henman, head of Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center (JTIC) at IHS Markit.
“These trends were largely driven by downturns in violent militant activity in countries experiencing high levels of violence, alongside significant decreases in fatalities – such as a 44 percent decrease in fatalities in Syria and a 60 percent decline in Iraq,” Henman said. “Indeed, of the top 10 most violent countries in 2017, attacks decreased in six countries, and fatalities decreased in eight.”
These figures are from the annual Global Attack Index produced by JTIC. IHS Markit notes that
JTIC uses open source data to build a global database of politically- and ideologically-motivated violence by non-state armed groups and individuals, archived to 1997. The annual report highlights key data and global trends from the database. An infographic is available to download here.
Key findings from the 2017 report
· Attacks worldwide decreased slightly from 2016 to fewer than 23,000 in 2017, while resultant fatalities decreased by one-third to just over 18,000.
· More than 700 suicide attacks were conducted in 2017, causing almost 4,000 fatalities – a slight increase in attacks from 2016 but a more than one-third decline in fatalities.
· Attacks in Syria accounted for more than one-third of all attacks worldwide - almost surpassing the five next most violent countries in total attacks - increasing slightly to reach more than 8,000, but fatalities fell by almost half from 2016.
