Beyond al-Qa'ida

Data found in the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) and conveyed in the Institute for Economics and Peace Terrorism Index demonstrate the breadth of violence emanating from violent jihadist groups globally. The Global Terrorism Index lists Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia as experiencing the greatest increase in “impact of terrorism” between 2002 and 2011. The ten most lethal organizations in that timeframe include the Taliban, the Islamic State of Iraq and its two precursor organizations (al-Qa’ida in Iraq and Tawhid wal Jihad - which make the top ten on their own record), Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, and Boko Haram. Four of the five most lethal-single attacks of 2011 were conducted by al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (110 killed), the Tehriki-Taliban Pakistan (80 killed), al-Shabaab (70 killed), and al-Qa’ida in Iraq (65 killed). According to GTD data for 2011, 11 of the most 20 active groups globally were al-Qa’ida linked. The same year, however, the al-Qa’ida organization itself was responsible for only one incident, a kidnapping, out of the 5,000 terrorist incidents conducted globally. Read more...