Global Terror Attacks Decreased in 2015
There was a decrease in terrorist attacks and resulting fatalities in 2015.
The report by the U.S. State Department showed that the total number of terrorist attacks went down 13 percent from 2014 with fatalities from attacks decreasing 14 percent.
The research for the report was conducted by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland.
India and Afghanistan complete the list of the top five countries most affected by terrorism, and they accounted for more than half of the 11,000 attacks worldwide.
The State Department said data revealed the threat of terrorism “continued to evolve rapidly in 2015, becoming increasingly decentralized and diffuse.” Extremists were exploiting countries “where avenues for free and peaceful expression of opinion were blocked.”
Though Iran was the top state sponsor of terror, the Islamic State remains the biggest threat, with the group gathering supporters across the Middle East and Africa as well as Asia. Though it lost ground in Iraq and Syria, it made gains in Libya and Egypt.
Though there was an overall reduction in terror-related attacks worldwide in 2015, there were increases in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Syria and Turkey.
