The number of deaths during "terrorist attacks" in the world fell by 15.2% in 2018 compared to the previous year, with a total of 15,952 killed, reveals the Global Terrorism Index released Wednesday by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).
In the absence of a recognized definition, on which the international community is unable to agree, the IEP researchers do not specify what they term "an act of terrorism".
The death toll in the report is down sharply for the fourth year in a row, after peaking in 2014, said the think tank based in Sydney, Australia, which bases its statistics on data collected by the government. University of Maryland, United States.
>>> READ ALSO - SURVEY - When does a "criminal conspiracy" become "terrorist"?
"Terrorist attacks" are defined in the University of Maryland database as "acts by non-state actors involving the use or threat of unlawful use of force or violence to 'to achieve political, economic, religious or social goals through fear, coercion or intimidation'.
In Europe, a significant decrease in the number of deaths by terrorist acts
In Europe, the number of deaths by acts of terrorism has decreased for the second year in a row, from more than 200 in 2017 to 62 in 2018, the report notes. "The collapse of the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria and Iraq has been felt in Europe, where no death has been attributed to it in 2018, even though 16 people have been killed by extremists inspired by its jihadist ideology, "write the report's authors.
In 2018, Afghanistan was, as in the previous year, the country most affected by terrorism, with 1,443 attacks that left at least 7,349 dead. Next come Iraq (1,131 attacks, 1,054 killed), Nigeria (562 attacks, 2,040 killed) and Syria (131 attacks, 662 dead).
The Taliban, the deadliest terrorist group
The Taliban surpassed IS to become the deadliest terrorist group in the world, recording a 71% increase in deaths. This group is responsible for 38% of all reported global terrorist deaths in 2018.
The decline of IS, which has lost its self-appointed Caliphate in Syria and Iraq, "continued for the second year in a row," the report notes. "The number of deaths attributed to this group has decreased by 69% in 2018, and the number of attacks by 63 %.EI has only an estimated 18,000 combatants in these two countries, against more than 70,000 in 2014 ".
The report also notes a sharp rise in far-right terrorism, particularly in Western Europe, North America and Oceania. The number of incidents has increased by 320% in the last five years. "Although the death toll is at its lowest level since 2013, terrorism remains a major global threat," the study concludes. "It remains a widespread phenomenon, with 67 countries having recorded at least one killed, and 19 countries over 100".