A consortium of researchers dedicated to improving the understanding of the human causes and consequences of terrorism
Trends in terrorism in the U.S.: New report analyzes terrorist attack data 1970-2011
Trends in terrorism in the U.S.: New report analyzes terrorist attack data 1970-2011
- There were 21 fatal terrorist attacks in this time period.
- Total attacks declined from a high of 40 in 2001 to nine in 2011.
- From 2001 to 2011 California (40) and New York (19) experienced the most total terrorist attacks against the U.S. homeland.
- The three cities in the United States that experienced the most attacks from 2001 to 2011 were New York City (12), Washington, DC (9) and Los Angeles (8).
- The most common targets of terrorists in the United States during this time period were businesses (62 attacks), private citizens and property (59 attacks) and government (43 attacks).
- The three terrorist organizations with the largest number of attacks on the U.S. homeland from 2001 to 2011 were the Earth Liberation Front (50), the Animal Liberation Front (34) and al-Qa'ida (4).
Additionally, the GTD includes incidents involving perpetrators who were "out the door" intending to imminently attack their targets but who were ultimately unsuccessful. The study found that the highest proportion of unsuccessful attacks since 1970 occurred in 2011, when four out of nine recorded attacks were unsuccessful. The lowest proportion of unsuccessful attacks occurred in 1990 when all 31 attacks in the United States were successful.
The study was funded through START by the Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate's Resilient Systems Division.
The full report, "Integrated United States Security Database (IUSSD): Data on the Terrorist Attacks in the United States Homeland, 1970 to 2011," is available at http://www.start.umd.edu/start/publications/START_IUSSDDataTerroristAttacksUS_1970-2011.pdf.