Afghanistan ranked number 1 on Global Terrorism Index 

According to Global Terrorism Index 2020 Afghanistan remains the country most impacted by terrorism and was subjected to 26 of the world’s 50 worst terrorist attacks last year. 

The report stated that while terrorism deaths in the country declined in 2019 for the first time in three years, the Taliban remained the world’s deadliest terrorist group.

The annual Global Terrorism Index, now in its eighth year, is developed by leading think tank the Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP) and provides the most comprehensive resource on global terrorism trends.

“Whether the peace talks in Afghanistan have a substantial impact on terrorist activity remains to be seen,” read the report.

According to the report, the global economic impact of terrorism in 2019 amounted to US$26.4 billion, a fall of 25 percent from 2018 but Afghanistan was the country with the highest economic impact, equivalent to 16.7 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Just ten countries accounted for over 80 percent of all deaths from terrorism in 2019, the most deaths in a single country were recorded in Afghanistan, accounting for 41 percent of all deaths. 

This represents a slight improvement from 2018 when Afghanistan accounted for 45 percent of global terrorism deaths.

“The fall in deaths in Afghanistan is particularly noticeable given its recent history,” read the report. 

“Since the peak of violence in 2018, deaths have fallen by just over 22 percent in a year. This reduction was driven by a decline in terrorist deaths attributed to the Taliban and the Khorasan Chapter of the Islamic State (IS-K) which fell by 18 and 61 percent respectively.”

The report stated that IS-K has faced significant territorial losses in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces following attacks by coalition forces but despite the fall in terrorism deaths, 2019 was still the second deadliest year on record for Afghanistan.

The Taliban were the deadliest terrorist group for the second consecutive year while IS-K was the second deadliest group in the country.

The Taliban ruled Afghanistan until 2001 when US Forces and NATO toppled the regime, which was thought to be harboring Al-Qaeda. After the regime was overthrown, the Taliban regrouped across the border in Pakistan and has since led an insurgency against the government of Afghanistan and the US-led Resolute Support Mission. 

But, as highlighted by the report, the Taliban has steadily regained territory across Afghanistan. 

As of January 2019, it was estimated that the Taliban controlled territory home to approximately 10 percent of the population.

The report states that the Taliban is active solely in Afghanistan but that the Taliban’s Pakistani affiliate group, Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was responsible for 73 deaths and 30 attacks in Pakistan in 2019, demonstrating a Taliban-related presence outside of Afghanistan.

“In January 2019, the Taliban committed their deadliest terror attack of the year when a suicide bomber and armed assailants targeted a National Directorate for Security (NDS) base in Maydan Shahr district, Wardak, Afghanistan,” the report read. 

At least 129 people were killed and 54 people were injured in the attack.

Despite a decline in terrorist deaths from 2018 to 2019, Afghanistan remains the country most impacted for the second consecutive year.

Afghanistan accounted for 41 percent of deaths from terrorism globally, with the Taliban being responsible for 87 percent of these fatalities. 

The report stated that during 2019, deaths from terrorism declined by 22 percent, falling to 5,725. 

“While this reduction in the number of deaths provides some optimism, it is the second-highest number of deaths recorded from terrorism in Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led invasion.”

In 2019, terrorism was widespread in Afghanistan with terrorist incidents recorded in all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, and deaths recorded in every province except Panjshir. The largest number of deaths from terrorism were recorded in Kunduz province with the majority of deaths attributed to the Taliban. 

In 2019, there were 500 deaths in Kunduz province, a 77 percent increase from the prior year.

According to the report, recent losses of territory and fighters, IS-K is believed to still have sleeper cells in cities such as Kabul and Jalalabad.

“The presence of the Khorasan Chapter continues to challenge the Taliban. In 2019, the Khorasan Chapter was active in seven provinces, compared to the Taliban who conducted terror attacks across all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. 

“Sixteen clashes were recorded between the Taliban and the Khorasan Chapter in 2019, mostly in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces,” which are located along the Afghanistan and Pakistan border and have served as operational bases for the IS-K since the group’s inception in 2015.

In 2019, Afghanistan was not only the country most affected by terrorism it also had the highest economic cost of terrorism, equivalent to 16.7 percent of its GDP, read the report. 

No other country in 2019 experienced a cost of terrorism greater than four percent of its GDP.

For the full report CLICK HERE