START Special Edition: Contextualizing the Paris Attacks - Background Report; Online series on ISIL; Additional resources

BACKGROUND REPORT
Mass-Fatality, Coordinated Attacks Worldwide, and Terrorism in France
 
On November 13, 2015, assailants carried out a series of coordinated attacks at locations in Paris, France, including a theater where a concert was being held, several restaurants, and a sporting event. These attacks reportedly killed more than 120 people and wounded more than 350 others. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack.  To provide contextual information on coordinated, mass-fatality attacks, as well as terrorism in France and the attack patterns of ISIL, START has compiled the following information from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD).
 
The report, “Mass-Fatality, Coordinated Attacks Worldwide, and Terrorism in France,” is available on START’s website and includes details such as:

• Between 1970 and 2014, there have been 176 occasions on which terrorist attacks killed more than 100 people (excluding perpetrators), in a particular country on a particular day.
• Between 2000 and 2014, there were 83 days on which more than 100 people were killed by terrorist attacks in a single country. These attacks took place in 25 countries in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia; however, they were especially concentrated in Iraq and Nigeria.
• Preliminary data from 2015 suggest that the unusual frequency of mass casualty terrorist attacks in 2014 has continued. Between January and June 2015 there were 11 occasions in which terrorist attacks killed more than 100 people in a single country on a single day.
• ISIL, under its current incarnation, carried out more than 750 coordinated attacks from 2000-2014—specifically in 2013 and 2014. However, this is a conservative assessment because the Global Terrorism Database records the names of perpetrator organizations at the time of the attack. Thus, it is important to note that al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI), ISIL’s predecessor, carried out at least 400 coordinated attacks as well. Also, 25 coordinated attacks were attributed to the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), another identity previously assumed by ISIL, and several other coordinated attacks were carried out by provinces of the Islamic State, including the Sinai Province and the Tripoli Province.

 
View the full report athttp://www.start.umd.edu/pubs/START_ParisMassCasualtyCoordinatedAttack_Nov2015.pdf.

• What makes ISIL so magnetic, inspirational, and deeply resonant with a small, but significant, portion of the Muslim population?
• Is ISIL a durable organization, and what are the characteristics of ISIL that can help us anticipate its durability?

 
The training is free and available to the public on START’s website athttp://www.start.umd.edu/core-capabilities-and-potential-durability-islamic-state-iraq-and-levant-isil.
 

In light of the recent attacks in Paris, START has compiled this list of additional START research-based publications, presentations and data sources that contribute to analysis of the current state of global terrorism and the Islamic State. A full list is being maintained on our website at https://www.start.umd.edu/news/resources-better-understand-islamic-state-global-terrorism-foreign-fighters and includes:

START Publications:

• “Understanding the Threat: What Data Tell Us about U.S. Foreign Fighters” Analytical Brief by Michael Jensen, Patrick James and Herbert Tinsley, September 2015.

• “Overview: Terrorism in 2014” Background Report by Erin Miller, August 2015.

• “Taking the Sinai Province of the Islamic State seriously without helping it destabilize Egypt” Discussion Point by Sheehan Kane and William Braniff, August 2015.

•  “The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant: Branding, Leadership Culture and Lethal Attraction” Report by Gina Ligon, Mackenzie Harms, John Crowe, Leif Lundmark and Pete Simi, November 2014.

• "A Tale of Two Caliphates" Discussion Point by William Braniff and Ryan Pereira, August 2014. An updated presentation by Braniff on this topic is available here.

• “Transcending Organization: Individuals and the Islamic State” Analytical Brief by Jarret Brachman, June 2014

• “The Evolution of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL): Relationships 2004-2014” Fact Sheet by Corina Simonelli pulled from the Big Allied and Dangerous dataset, June 2014.

Presentations:

• "Core Capabilities and Potential Durability of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)" Online Short Series (Video Training Course) presented by William Braniff, November 2015.

• “Daesh: An Organizational Profile” Presentation by Gina Ligon during START’s 2015 Symposium, which included presentations on Counterterrorism, Extremist Organizations and Individual Radicalization, October 2015.

• "A Tale of Two Caliphates: Al-Qaida and its Associated Movement vs. the Islamic State and its Associated Movement" Presentation by William Braniff reflecting on adiscussion point by the same name, September 2015.

• "What is the State of Islamic Extremism: Key Trends, Challenges and Implications for U.S. Policy” Congressional Testimony by William Braniff before the House Armed Services Committee, Feb. 13, 2015.

Data sources:

• Global Terrorism Database (GTD)
• Big, Allied And Dangerous (BAAD) online platform
   

This list is not comprehensive. For any START researchers wishing to contribute to this list of resources, email Jessica Rivinius at rivinius@start.umd.edu.