Britain is the most vulnerable country in Europe to terrorist attacks, a new report has warned.
The
UK suffered 131 terror incidents last year, with three people killed
including Lee Rigby, the soldier butchered in cold blood by
cleaver-wielding Muslim fanatics outside his barracks in Woolwich,
south-east London.
The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) ranked Britain 27 out of 162 countries on its annual Global Terrorism Index.
There were 131 terror incidents last
year, including the murder of Lee Rigby by Muslim fanatics outside his
barracks in Woolwich, south-east London
The
UK is pushed up the list because of a number of terror attacks from
dissident Republican organisations, including IRA splinter groups, in
Northern Ireland.
Some
countries associated with disorder and random violence, such as
Indonesia, where the 2002 Bali bombings took place, and Sri Lanka, which
has fought a violent insurgency against Tamil Tigers militants, are
lower down the list.
The
think-tank also said there were up to 370 British jihadists fighting
with Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria – the second highest
total after France which has up to 410 extremists in the warzone.
Globally,
the number of terror attacks hit a record high with 9,184 strikes last
year – up 44 per cent. These incidents cost 17,958 lives – up 61 per
cent from just over 11,100 in 2012.
Terrorism
is dominated by four organisations – Islamic State, Boko Haram in
Nigeria, Al Qaeda and the Taliban, who are collectively responsible for
66 per cent of all deaths.
Over
80 per cent of the deaths from terrorist atrocities were recorded in
just five countries: Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria.
Russia was 11th on the list and Turkey – which borders Syria – 17th.
France is 56th and Germany 83rd.
There are up to 370 British jihadists fighting for ISIS, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace
More
than 6,300 terror victims – one-third of all those killed – were in
Iraq, which has been blighted by a wave of bloody sectarian attacks and
the rise of Islamic State, responsible for beheadings, crucifixions and
massacres.
Steve
Killelea, executive chairman of the IEP, said there had been a
‘significant and worrying increase’ in instances of terrorism.
But
he said a person was 40 times more likely to be murdered than killed in
a terror attack, and in the UK an individual was 188 times more likely
to be murdered than die in an extremist atrocity.
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