Tuesday, May 05, 2009
The United States suffered 33 deaths at the hands of terrorists in 2008, none of which occurred at home. Americans killed were in Iraq (21), India (6), Afghanistan (4), Sudan (1) and Yemen (1).
While the United States often assumes it is the No. 1 target of terrorists, the latest report from the National Counterterrorism Center shows that Americans actually represent a small percentage of the total number of victims of terrorism. The report states that in 2008 there were about 11,800 terrorist attacks worldwide against civilians, with more than 54,000 deaths, injuries and kidnappings. Of this total, well over 50% of the victims were Muslims, and most were victims of attacks in Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Also, the largest number of reported terrorist attacks occurred in the Middle East, although South Asia had the greater number of fatalities. These two regions were home to 75% of the 235 high-casualty attacks (those that killed 10 or more people) in 2008.
Altogether, 15,732 people died from terrorists attacks around the world in 2008. The country with the highest total of civilian fatalities was Iraq—5,016—followed by Pakistan (2,293), Afghanistan (1,989), Somalia (1,278), and India (1,113).
-Noel Brinkerhoff
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