Terrorism related deaths worldwide at highest since 2017

Deaths from terrorism increased by 22 percent to 8,352 worldwide last year, the highest since 2017, according to a report released by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) on Thursday.

In its report titled Global Terrorism Index 2024 (GTI), the IEP pointed out that terrorism was still a global threat and that attacks became deadlier even though the number of incidents dropped, also by 22 percent, to 3,350. Despite the attack by the Islamist organization Hamas on Oct. 7 against Israel, the number of terrorist incidents decreased in the Middle East, as well as in North Africa, Europe, and North America, the IEP reported. The central Sahel region in Africa has conclusively overtaken the Middle East as terrorism’s epicenter, with the Islamic State and the al-Qaeda affiliated Jamaat Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen being the most active terrorist organizations, according to the report.

The IEP, which publishes the report annually, estimated that the average number of people killed in each attack had increased by 56 percent, the highest in almost 10 years. The deadliest terrorist incident of 2023 was the attack carried out by Hamas in Israel on Oct. 7, which saw 1,200 people lose their lives. The consequences of the attack are still unfolding, as more than 30,000 Palestinians have lost their lives in Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip as of mid-February, the report said.

The report indicated that Burkina Faso suffered the worst impact of terrorism in 2023, with a 68 percent increase in deaths despite attacks decreasing by 17 percent. Iraq recorded the largest improvement in the last decade, with deaths from terrorism falling by 99 percent since the peak witnessed in 2007. “The last twelve months resulted in the most lives lost to terrorism than in any period since 2017. Conflict remains the primary driver of terrorism, yet most wars in the 21st century have been unwinnable and very costly,” said IEP founder and CEO Steve Killelea.