Major decreases in violence in Syria and Iraq led total global terror attacks to fall significantly in 2018, a report indicates
Worldwide terrorist attacks fell by 33 per cent in 2018 compared to 2017, to the lowest level since 2011, a report released in January showed. The annual Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre (JTIC) Global Attack Index indicated that non-military deaths resulting from terror attacks also fell, by more than a quarter.
“Over the course of 2018, JTIC recorded a worldwide total of 15,321 attacks by non-state armed groups, which resulted in a total of 13,483 non-militant fatalities,” said Matthew Henman, head of JTIC. “The attack figure represents a significant 33.2 per cent decrease from the recorded number of attacks in 2017.”
As well as representing the fewest annual attacks since 2011, the report recorded the lowest annual fatality figures since JTIC began collecting comprehensive data of this kind in 2009.
Key findings included that attacks by Islamic State dropped by 71 per cent, and resultant fatalities by more than 50 per cent, although the group remained the deadliest worldwide in terms of number of non-militant fatalities caused. Syria dropped to the second highest country in terms of recorded attacks, with attacks falling by almost two- thirds and resultant fatalities falling by almost half.
The attack figure represents a significant 33.2 per cent decrease from the recorded number of attacks in 2017
JTIC recorded violent activity by non-state armed groups in 90 countries worldwide in 2018, down from 116 countries in 2017.
In contrast to the overall trend, attacks in Ukraine increased by almost a fifth, as it rose to be the most violent country in terms of recorded attacks. Afghanistan became the deadliest country worldwide in terms of recorded non-militant fatalities, with attacks rising by almost a third.
