Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan hit hard by terrorism in 2012: U.S. report

WASHINGTON, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan were the three countries that bore the brunt of terrorist attacks in 2012, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday in its annual report.

Of more than 11,000 deaths and over 21,600 injuries sustained in a total of 6,771 attacks worldwide in 2012, 55 percent of attacks, 62 percent fatalities and 65 percent injuries occurred in Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan, the department said in the report on terrorism.

It said terrorist attacks took place in 85 different countries in 2012, but the highest number of fatalities occurred in Afghanistan (2,632), while the country with the most injuries was Iraq (6,641).

As to the average lethality of attacks, Syria, Afghanistan and Nigeria led other countries by 4.94 deaths per attack, 2.57 deaths and 2.54 deaths respectively, the report said.

In Syria, where a civil conflict has entered its third year and killed more than 80,000 people, the average number of people wounded per attack was also high, with 1,787 people reportedly wounded in 133 attacks, including four attacks that caused 670 injuries, noted the report.

"The most commonly used tactic in terrorist attacks in 2012 involved explosives, followed by armed assaults," the report said.

It noted that suicide attacks in 2012 were 4.7 times as lethal as non-suicide attacks, with 340 such attacks killing 2,223 people and injuring 4,410 others.

Half of all targets in the attacks were classified as either private citizens and property or police.

In addition, more than 1,280 people were kidnapped or taken hostage worldwide in 2012, the report said.

As the United States has killed Osama bin Laden and other senior al-Qaeda leaders, the report said the threat posed by the terrorist group has been "significantly degraded."

"As a result of these leadership losses, the AQ (al-Qaeda) core 's ability to direct activities and attacks of its affiliates has diminished, as its leaders focus increasingly on survival," said the report.

It continued to name Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria as "state sponsors of terrorism," a designation that entails tough sanctions.

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