A study examines the terrorist attacks between 2002 and 2015. The data includes the attacks of individuals and groups, inspired by or openly declared to have allegiance to IS. Daesh militiamen have carried out 13% of terrorist activities on a global level causing 26% of all fatalities.
Baghdad (AsiaNews / Agencies) - More than 33 thousand people have died at the hands of the Islamic State (IS) and organizations affiliated to the jihadist movement, over a period of time ranging from 2002 to 2015. This data is contained in a report published by Maryland University's Consortium for the Study of Terrorism And Responses to Terrorism (Start). The survey, the work of a group of US experts, also shows that militants have launched at least 4900 attacks worldwide.
The Daesh militiamen [Arabic acronym for IS have carried out 13% of terrorist acts ton a global level duriong the period covered by the investigation; with regard to the number of deaths, 26% of the total is due to the self-styled jihadist Islamic Caliphate.
For researchers October 2002, and the assassination in Jordan of US diplomat Laurence Foley at the hands of a small group led by Abou Moussab al-Zarqawi, marked the first attack by what was then a relatively small group, destined to grow over time. It evolved to reach the current structure and took the name "Islamic State" in 2013, now known today worldwide.
The investigation is based on data from the Global Terrorism Database, which registered attacks by individuals and groups prior to IS (formerly Isis), those faithful to the same Isis, inspired jihadists or perpetrated by the men of the Caliphate . In this list there are 30 organizations such as Boko Haram in West Africa, Tehrik-e-Khilafat in Pakistan and Bagsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement in the Philippines.
Along with 33 thousand dead, over 41 thousand people were injured in the attacks and more than 11 thousand were abducted.
From May 2013 to the end of that year IS has made an average of 46 attacks per month. The figure grows in 2014 to 104 attacks per month and 102 the following year. The most serious and bloody attacks according to the study took place in Iraq in June 2014, with the seizure of about 1600 regular army recruits, almost all executed.
In 80% of cases the attacks – out of about 150 thousand terrorist attacks in total since 1970 - perpetrated by the Islamic state have occurred through the use of explosives; 16% instead were carried out with firearms.
The findings in the research also show some correlation in the methods used by terrorist groups. For example, the precursors of the Islamic state between 2002 and 2013 attacked and hit almost exclusively in Iraq. From 2014 on, the attacks have reached a global scale.