What Are the Most Terrorized Countries

Terrorist strikes in the West get wall to wall coverage on mainstream media. In 2016, attacks in Brussels, Nice, and Orlando made headlines for weeks and even months. So it may come as a surprise that these countries actually see far fewer terror attacks than others. Which got us thinking, which countries experienced the most terror last year? First, it’s important to define a terror attack as an intentional act of violence that includes an economic, social, or religious goal, and is not directly within the scope of an active war. We’re also looking at information from 2016, since 2017 data isn’t available yet. Third on our list is India.

In 2016, India saw more than 1,000 terror attacks, predominantly in the disputed Jammu-Kashmir region, parts of which are claimed by India, Pakistan, and even China. One event that grabbed headlines, was an attack against the Indian military by an extremist group known as lashkar-e taiba.

That attack left more than 20 people dead. The group, which is based in Pakistan and originally funded by Osama Bin laden, was also responsible for the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks. India has also struggled with left wing terrorism. A Naxalite–Maoist group called the Communist Party of India has been fighting the government since 2004, particularly in poorer regions of the country. The second most terrorized country was Afghanistan, with about 1,600 attacks in 2016.

In October 2016, a taliban attack in Kunduz killed over 150 people. According to testimony in the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, terrorism in Afghanistan is on the rise. Although the United States invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 was able to topple the militant leadership of the Taliban, many of its fighters fled to neighboring Pakistan, or reformed into splinter groups. Other groups like the Islamic State of Afghanistan, and al-Qaeda are also operating in the region with little government or military oversight.

Across the board, terrorism in Afghanistan is focused on removing the US’s presence and re-establishing a militant Islamic state. And last we have Iraq which comes in as the most terrorized country in 2016 with more terrorist attacks than India and Afghanistan combined. There were over 3,300 attacks in that year.

In August 2016, a suicide bomber killed nearly 400 people at a shopping center in Bagdad. And what’s even more horrifying, is that over 12,000 people have been killed in these types of attacks in just that one year. To break that number down, that’s about 33 people dying at the hands or terror every single day. Iraq remains extremely unstable because of destabilizing US interventions, the emergence of ISIS, and fighting between local militias that are all vying for control.

ISIS in particular, has been responsible for the largest attacks in the country. While the total global number of terror attacks has dropped slightly, these regions have seen little relief. Most frustratingly, the overwhelming majority of these attacks are completely unreported in Western media. And in spite of increasing efforts by the US government to secure Afghanistan and Iraq, the instability of those countries has been devastating to their populations. Another country that has experienced a lot terror, but rarely makes it into western headlines is Somalia.

Pages

What Are the Most Terrorized Countries

What Are the Most Terrorized Countries

Search This Blog

Popular Posts

Blog Archive