
Terror attack in Iraq
Photo: EPA
Somalia is most at risk from terrorist attack, followed by Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan and the new nation of South Sudan, according to a ranking by global analysts Maplecroft, published on Thursday.
The consultancy's latest Terrorism Risk Index said 20 states were at "extreme risk". Apart from the top five, the list includes Yemen (6), Palestinian Territories (7), Democratic Republic of Congo (8), Central African Republic 9, Colombia (10), Algeria (11), Thailand (12), Philippines (13), Russia (14), Sudan (15), Iran (16), Burundi (17), India (18), Nigeria (19) and Israel (20).
South Sudan, which came into being last month on secession for the north, replaced the Palestinian Territories at number five due to the high average number of people killed per attack in violence there.
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A Maplecroft statement said increased dangers seen in Yemen and Uganda were caused by al-Qaeda associated violence, those in Iran stemmed from attacks by Sunni Muslim rebel group Jundollah and those in Egypt and Libya originated in terrorist and criminal attempts to exploit Arab Spring political unrest.
Nigeria is beset by militant raids in the Niger Delta, by sectarian violence and by radical Islamist attacks in the north.
Scene of terror attack in Pakistan (Photo: AFP)
The top four rankings were unchanged from Maplecroft's previous survey issued in November 2010 but The UK-based company's index rates 198 countries on the number, frequency and intensity of terrorism attacks, plus the likelihood of mass casualties occurring. While based on historical data, it is intended as a forward-looking assessment.
Maplecroft defines terrorism as the calculated and purposeful use of violence employed to influence the attitudes and behaviour of people and governments, and takes its raw data from the US National Counter-terrorism Center's Worldwide Incidents Tracking System.
South Sudan got its rating "primarily due to the intensity of terrorist attacks, with an average of 6.59 fatalities per terrorist incident, almost three times that of Somalia at 2.23."
At least seven rebel militias are fighting the new government's forces which are trying to establish stability after winning separation as part of the climax to a 2005 peace deal ending decades of civil war with Khartoum.
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