Terror attacks worldwide rose 25 percent in ’06

cat's meow · #1 (**permalink**) 04-30-2007, 11:48 PM

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Terror attacks worldwide rose 25 percent in ’06
State Department says most attacks in Iraq, Afghanistan

Updated: 3:18 p.m. CT April 30, 2007
WASHINGTON - Terrorist attacks worldwide shot up 25 percent last year, particularly in Iraq where extremists used chemical weapons and suicide bombers to target crowds, according to a new State Department report.

Among countries, Iran remains the biggest supporter of terrorism, with elements of its government backing groups throughout the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, giving material support and guidance to Shiite insurgent groups that have attacked Sunnis, U.S. and Iraqi forces, the report said.

In its annual global survey of terrorism to be released Monday, the State Department says about 14,000 attacks took place in 2006, mainly in Iraq and Afghanistan. These strikes claimed more than 20,000 lives — two-thirds in Iraq. That is 3,000 more attacks than in 2005 and 5,800 more deaths.

Altogether, 40 percent more people were killed by increasingly lethal means around the globe.

The report partly attributes the higher casualty figures to a 25-percent jump in the number of nonvehicular suicide bombings targeting large crowds. That overwhelmed a 12-percent dip in suicide attacks involving vehicles.

Chemical use marks ‘dangerous’ shift
In Iraq, the use of chemical weapons, seen for the first time in a November 23, 2006 attack in Sadr City, also “signaled a dangerous strategic shift in tactics,” it says.

With the rise in fatalities, the number of injuries from terrorist attacks also rose, by 54 percent, between 2005 and 2006, with a doubling in the number wounded in Iraq over the period, according to the department’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2006.

The numbers were compiled by the National Counterterrorism Center and refer to deaths and injuries sustained by “noncombatants,” with significant increases in attacks targeting children, educators and journalists.

“By far the largest number of reported terrorist incidents occurred in the Near East and South Asia,” says the 335-page report, referring to the regions where Iraq and Afghanistan are located.

“These two regions also were the locations for 90 percent of all the 290 high-casualty attacks that killed 10 or more people,” says the report, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its official release.

Almost half in Iraq
The report says 6,600, or 45 percent, of the attacks took place in Iraq, killing about 13,000 people, or 65 percent of the worldwide total of terrorist-related deaths in 2006. Kidnappings by terrorists soared 300 percent in Iraq over 2005.

Afghanistan had 749 strikes in 2006, a 50-percent rise from 2005 when 491 attacks were tallied, according to the report.

However, it also details a surge in Africa, where 65 percent more attacks, 420 compared to 253 in 2005, were counted last year, largely due to turmoil in or near Sudan, including Darfur, and Nigeria where oil facilities and workers have been targeted.

Iran gets top billing
As in previous years, the 2006 report identifies Iran as the “most active state sponsor” of terror, accusing the Islamic republic of helping plan and foment attacks to destabilize Iraq and derail Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has been “linked to armor-piercing explosives that resulted in the deaths of coalition forces” and has helped, along with Lebanon’s radical Hezbollah movement, train Iraqi extremists to build bombs, the report says.

Although the designation of Iran is not new, it appears in the report that is being released as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice prepares to attend a conference of Iraq’s neighbors, at which she has not ruled out a meeting with Iran’s foreign minister.

The report says that terrorists continue to rely mainly on conventional weapons in their attacks, but noted no let up in an alarming trend toward more sophisticated and better planned and coordinated strikes.

Deaths, injuries rise sharply
For instance, while the number of bombings increased by 30 percent between 2005 and 2006, the death tolls from these incidents rose by 39 percent and the number of injuries rose by 45 percent, it says.

The report attributes the higher casualty figures to a 25-percent jump in the number of non-vehicular suicide bombings targeting large crowds that more than made up for a slight 12-percent dip in suicide attacks involving vehicles.

Of the 58,000 people killed or wounded in terrorist attacks around the world in 2006, more than 50 percent were Muslims, the report, says with government officials, police and security guards accounting for a large proportion, the report says.

The number of child casualties from terrorist attacks soared by more than 80 percent between 2005 and 2006 to more than 1,800, while incidents involving educators were up more than 45 percent and those involving journalists up 20 percent, the report says.

Twenty-eight U.S. citizens were killed and 27 wounded in terrorist incidents in 2006, most of them in Iraq, where eight of the 12 Americans kidnapped by terrorists last year were taken captive, it says.

© 2007 The Associated Press.

noneof yourbusiness · #2 (**permalink**) 05-01-2007, 01:08 AM

Not buying it. Number of skirmishes called terror attacks went up.

Mom_Adams · #3 (**permalink**) 05-01-2007, 01:41 AM

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Terrorist attacks worldwide shot up 25 percent last year, particularly in Iraq where extremists used chemical weapons and suicide bombers to target crowds, according to a new State Department report.

the State Department says about 14,000 attacks took place in 2006, mainly in Iraq and Afghanistan. These strikes claimed more than 20,000 lives — two-thirds in Iraq.

That's actually 3500 more attacks than the worldwide total of 10,500 in 2005. That also means that 9,240 of those 14,000 attacks were in Iraq or Afghanistan and that means that the rest of the world only suffered 4,760 terrorist attacks in 2006; considerably less than the year before.

So, based on these numbers, with the exception of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa where Muslims are waging jihad on anyone and everyone, the rest of the world IS actually safer than it was a year ago. That's great news.

cat's meow · #4 (**permalink**) 05-01-2007, 01:46 AM

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Originally Posted by Mom_Adams

That's actually 3500 more attacks than the worldwide total of 10,500 in 2005. That also means that 9,240 of those 14,000 attacks were in Iraq or Afghanistan and that means that the rest of the world only suffered 4,760 terrorist attacks in 2006; considerably less than the year before.

So, based on these numbers, with the exception of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa where Muslims are waging jihad on anyone and everyone, the rest of the world IS actually safer than it was a year ago. That's great news.

Uh, the terrorists have moved to the 'free range' where they can more easily put infidels' heads on a stick. Guess it is better that our troops get attacked and killed in the Middle East, huh?

Mom_Adams · #5 (**permalink**) 05-01-2007, 01:55 AM

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Originally Posted by cat's meow

Uh, the terrorists have moved the 'free range' where they can more easily put and infidels' heads on a stick. Guess it is better that our troops get attacked and killed in the Middle East, huh?

The terrorists are going to put infidels heads on sticks from now until it's all over.

Who do you think is better prepared to deal with them, our troops in Iraq or businessmen and women going to work in the Sears Tower? Our troops in Afghanistan or the commuters on Highway 101?

cat's meow · #6 (**permalink**) 05-01-2007, 02:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mom_Adams

The terrorists are going to put infidels heads on sticks from now until it's all over.

Who do you think is better prepared to deal with them, our troops in Iraq or businessmen and women going to work in the Sears Tower? Our troops in Afghanistan or the commuters on Highway 101?

This does have an ongoing history but what is overlooked is we were forced to put bases in the Middle East at the behest of the House of Saud. Were we prepared to deal with terrorist attacks on our troops like during both the GHWB and Clinton administrations? So expanding the opportunity to have our troops attacked in both strategy and numbers...start a war in Iraq...this is what I am talking about...so you think if we DID NOT invade Iraq we would see the level of violence happening over there all of a sudden on State St in Chicago or the Broadway overpass in downtown Los Angeles?

I_Hate_the_Nazi_Right · #7 (**permalink**) 05-01-2007, 11:46 AM

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Originally Posted by noneof yourbusiness

Not buying it. Number of skirmishes called terror attacks went up.

Read the report... 75% of those attacks happened in Afganistan or Iraq.

Reynard1967 · #8 (**permalink**) 05-01-2007, 11:53 AM

So are you pointing out we need to fight harder? We could put more troops out there, more hardware.
If most people would rather have someone say something to their face rather than talk behind thier back, can one say it's less infuriating to be invaded than to be manipulated through political manuvers and preasure.
So.....Invade.....it pisses people off less......this started by our politics not our army.

gixaholic · #9 (**permalink**) 05-01-2007, 01:11 PM

very intersting information heer...

---mostly all of the increases and events took place in Iraq and afganistan...

---2006 was an election year hear in the states.

--- can it be safe to say that the terrrorist attacks where on the rise to influence the elections heer in the states. This just may bee because by the terror groups own admission this was there goal..

---I wish the article would of stated the frequency and severity of these attacks month to month.. just like they do the troop loss amounts..

--- If they did this you would clearly see a steady assention leading towards our midterm election and then substantially falling after it...

--- I wonder if the same pattern will follow our 2008 elections. And if it does will you libs finally realise that the bobmings over there are clearly ment to effect sentiment over heer..

StormanNorman · #10 (**permalink**) 05-01-2007, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mom_Adams

That's actually 3500 more attacks than the worldwide total of 10,500 in 2005. That also means that 9,240 of those 14,000 attacks were in Iraq or Afghanistan and that means that the rest of the world only suffered 4,760 terrorist attacks in 2006; considerably less than the year before.

So, based on these numbers, with the exception of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa where Muslims are waging jihad on anyone and everyone, the rest of the world IS actually safer than it was a year ago. That's great news.

Well, mom, unless you are an Iraqi....I don't know how happy I would be knowing that we took our fight to their backyard......and now they are the ones paying for it.