Paris, Iraq… 2015 was the year that cities were burnt, innocent blood was spilt and countries destroyed by brutal terrorist groups.
The world’s most developed countries have suffered a dramatic increase in deaths as a result of terrorism in the last year, according to the new Global Terrorism Index, despite a drop in the global number of terrorism-related deaths.
There was a 650 per cent increase in fatal terror attacks on people living in the world’s biggest economies in 2015, the Global Terrorism Index 2016 reveals.
However, the study also shows that across the world as a whole, the number of deaths from terrorism fell 10 per cent to 29,376, compared to the previous year.
Here’s a look at the 10 most dangerous countries in the world.
INDIA RANK: 7
IMAGE: Soldiers rush in after terrorists opened fire on a bus and then attacked the Dina Nagar police station in Gurdaspur. Photograph: PTI Photo
With 289 deaths in 2015, India ranks seventh in the world of countries most affected by terrorism.
The deaths from terrorism in India decreased to the second lowest level since 2000. However, there were four per cent more attacks, totalling 800 and representing the highest number since 2000.
IRAQ RANK: 1
IMAGE: The site of suicide car attack at a market in Khan Bani Saad, northeast of Baghdad in July of last year. More than 100 people were killed in the suicide car bombing at the busy market. Photograph: Ahmed Saad/Reuters
Iraq has ranked as the country most impacted by terrorism every year since 2004.
The Islamic State is now the deadliest terrorist group in Iraq’s history with over 11,000 deaths. The next deadliest group in Iraq is Al-Qaeda.
According to the report, 6,960 people died in 2015 and another 11,900 were injured in 2,415 incidents in the country.
AFGHANISTAN RANK: 2
IMAGE: A man talks on his phone from a damaged building after a blast in Kabul. A car bomb outside a Kabul hospital killed at least 10 people and caused widespread casualties among Afghan civilians, although it appeared to have targeted a vehicle carrying foreign citizens, witnesses and security sources. Photograph: Mohammad Ismail/Reuters
Afghanistan suffered the worst year so far in its war with the Taliban, resulting in nearly 18,000 deaths from the conflict in 2015. Deaths from terrorism also increased to the highest recorded levels, with 5,312 deaths recorded in 2015, up by 18 per cent from the previous year.
NIGERIA RANK: 3
IMAGE: A soldier walks through the burnt building at the headquarters of Michika local government in Michika town, after the Nigerian military recaptured it from Boko Haram. Photograph: Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters
Nigeria experienced a 34 per cent decline in the number of deaths from terrorism in 2015. This was largely due to a decline in the number of attacks by Boko Haram in Nigeria.
In 2015, Boko Haram killed 4,095 people in terrorist attacks in Nigeria, down from 6,136 deaths in 2014.
Four out of five deaths from terrorism in Nigeria are civilians. This is one of the highest targeting of civilians anywhere in the world.
PAKISTAN RANK: 4
IMAGE: Women from the Christian community mourn for a relative, who was one of the victims killed by a suicide attack on a church in March, during his funeral in Lahore. Suicide bombings outside two churches in Lahore killed 14 people and wounded nearly 80 others during services. Photograph: Mohsin Raza/Reuters
In 2015, Pakistan recorded a substantial drop in terrorist activity with 45 per cent less attacks and 38 per cent fewer deaths than in the previous year.
This is the second consecutive year in which Pakistan has seen a reduction in terrorism.
Terrorism in the country is now at its lowest levels since 2006. However, with 1,086 deaths, Pakistan is still the sixth deadliest country.
SYRIA RANK: 5
IMAGE: A fighter of the Kurdish People's Protection Units fires an anti-aircraft weapon from Tel Tawil village in the direction of Islamic State fighters positioned in the countryside of the town of Tel Tamr. Photograph: Rodi Said/Reuters
The Syrian civil war continues to drive the increase in terrorism in Syria. In 2015 there was a 63 per cent increase in the number of deaths from terrorism over the previous year, rising to 2,761, the highest yet recorded in Syria.
It is likely that the number of deaths is actually much higher, but due to the intensity of the civil war and the Islamic State’s territorial control, the information is incomplete.
Terrorism in Syria is very extreme, representing 9.4 per cent of global deaths in 2015.
YEMEN RANK: 6
IMAGE: A broken toy lies among debris in a house damaged in a car bomb attack, near a mosque in Yemen's capital Sanaa. Photograph: Mohamed al-Sayaghi/Reuters
In 2015, Yemen experienced the highest levels of terrorism ever recorded with an increase in deaths of 132 per cent from 2014. There were 1,519 people killed, which is 866 more deaths than the previous year.
Prior to 2015, the worst year for terrorism in Yemen was 2012, the year that Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh was ousted, when 372 people were killed.
SOMALIA RANK: 8
IMAGE: A Somali woman walks past the scene of a suicide car bomb attack near Juba hotel in capital Mogadishu in August. Photograph: Feisal Omar/Reuters
Whilst deaths from terrorism in Somalia decreased by 18 per cent to 659 since the previous year, 2015 was still the second deadliest year in Somalia.
EGYPTRANK: 9
IMAGE: Crime scene investigators investigate the site of a car bomb attack on the convoy of Egyptian public prosecutor Hisham Barakat near his house at Heliopolis district in Cairo, Egypt. Photograph: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters
Terrorism in Egypt has increased to the highest levels since 2000. In 2015, there were 662 deaths, an increase of 260 per cent, from 2014. In contrast, from 2000 to 2012 the most deaths recorded in one year was 92, which was in 2005.
Two thirds of the 493 terrorist attacks in 2015 did not result in any deaths. These were mainly bombing attempts by unknown actors. However, there were also some very deadly attacks. The deadliest attack in 2015 killed 224 when an explosive device on a passenger plane flying from Egypt to Russia caused the flight to crash in North Sinai. This attack was claimed by the Sinai Province of the Islamic State.
LIBYA RANK: 10
IMAGE: In January, gunmen attacked the Corinthia hotel in Tripoli, killing three security guards and probably taking hostages, officials said. The gunmen first detonated a car bomb outside the Corinthia Hotel, killing the three guards. At least three of the attackers then stormed the luxury hotel, fighting with security forces who tried to evacuate guests. Photograph: Ismail Zitouny/Reuters
Libya recorded a four per cent increase in terrorist fatalities in 2015 compared to the previous year. Terrorism in Libya is linked to the crisis that began in 2011 after the overthrow of Prime Minister Moammar Gaddafi. The levels of terrorism in the country have increased steadily since then, rising to 454 deaths in 2015.
Also here's a look at the impact of terrorism on different countries across the globe.
Other than the 10 most dangerous countries, the report revealed some other interesting facts.
Nearly half of all terror attacks in 2015 occurred in four countries – Iraq, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, according to the report, which also said India last year had the highest number of attacks since 2000.
In 2015, 731 deaths linked to terrorism were reported in 34 countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which includes United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Turkey.
The index also revealed that Islamic State is now officially the deadliest terrorist group in the world, overtaking Boko Haram, after claiming responsibility for 6,141 deaths through attacks in more than 250 different cities in 2015.
The global economic impact of terrorism reached $89.6 billion (Rs 6,10,557 crore) in 2015, decreasing by 15 per cent from its 2014 level.
The report revealed that terrorism had no impact on 34 countries, including Singapore, Vietnam and Oman.
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