Reports on International Terrorism:
Statistics on Incidents of Terrorism Worldwide

In 2013, a total of 9,707 terrorist attacks occurred worldwide, resulting in more than 17,800 deaths and more than 32,500 injuries. In addition, more than 2,990 people were kidnapped or taken hostage. In this report we describe patterns of worldwide terrorist activity with respect to changes during the year, geographic concentration, casualties, perpetrator organizations, tactics, weapons, and targets.

• On average, there were 808.91 attacks, 1,490.92 deaths, and 2,714.75 injuries per month in 2013. There were 1.84 fatalities and 3.36 injuries per attack, including perpetrator casualties.
• The high number of hostages in January (986) was primarily due to a single extended hostage/barricade attack near In Amenas, Algeria in which approximately 800 people were held hostage at a British Petroleum (BP) gas complex. Al-Muwaqqi'un bil-Dima (Those Who Sign with Blood), a sub-battalion of the al-Mulathamun Battalion, claimed responsibility for the attack, which lasted three days.
• Global patterns of terrorism throughout the year were particularly influenced by trends in several key locations. In particular, terrorist violence increased coinciding with the onset of spring “fighting season” in Afghanistan. Between February and July 2013, the number of attacks in Afghanistan increased 128% and the number killed increased 253%.
• Pakistan and Iraq experienced similar increases in attacks during this time period. Although the number of attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan subsequently declined, the number of attacks and fatalities reported in Iraq continued to increase throughout the rest of 2013.
• The ten countries that experienced the most terrorist attacks in 2013 are the same as those that experienced the most terrorist attacks in 2012. The ranking in terms of total attacks increased for Iraq, the Philippines, and Syria, decreased for Pakistan, Nigeria, Yemen, and Somalia, and remained the same for Afghanistan, India, and Thailand. The number of total attacks increased for nine of the ten countries in Table 2. In Nigeria, the number of total attacks decreased 45 percent between 2012 and 2013; however, the total number killed increased 31 percent.
• Although terrorist attacks occurred in 93 different countries in 2013, they were heavily concentrated geographically. More than half of all attacks (57%) and fatalities (66%), and nearly three-quarters of all injuries (73%) occurred in three countries: Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
• By a wide margin, the highest numbers of attacks, fatalities, and injuries took place in Iraq. The average lethality of attacks in Iraq was nearly 40 percent higher than the global average (1.84 killed per attack) and 33 percent higher than the 2012 average in Iraq (1.92).
• The average lethality of attacks in Syria (5.07) and Nigeria (6.06) exceeded the global average by 176 percent and 229 percent, respectively. As in 2012, the average number of people wounded in attacks in Syria in 2013 was particularly high at 8.36. This was 149 percent higher than the global average for injuries (3.36), but 38 percent lower than the average number injured in terrorist attacks in Syria in 2012.
• Among the ten countries that experienced the most terrorist attacks in 2013, the average number killed per attack was lower than the global average for five (Pakistan, India, the Philippines, Thailand, and Yemen), and the average number wounded per attack was lower than the global average for eight (Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, the Philippines, Thailand, Nigeria, Yemen, and Somalia).
• During 2014 there were no suicide bombing attacks in Israel, although international incidents of suicide attacks increased 94%.