Think tank ranks Philippines ninth in Global Terrorism Index

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Think Tank Ranks Philippines 11th in Global Terrorism Index – www.plnmedia.com

The Philippines ranks ninth out of 162 countries who are heavily affected by terrorism.

This according to a new ‘think tank’ index by the Institute for Economics and Peace’s Global Terrorism Index for 2014.

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The study showed that that Philippines had the fifth largest overall improvement in decreasing of deaths related to terrorism in 2014.

“The fifth biggest improvement occurred in the Philippines which saw deaths decrease by 18 per cent to 240 fatalities in 2014, down from 291 in 2013,” the report released on Tuesday.

Pakistan has the biggest decrease in deaths, followed by Algeria, Russia and Lebanon.

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The Philippines was said to rank in ninth place in 2013 – and had an overall  index score of 7.27 out of 10.

“Deaths in 2014 are still the second highest recorded, the highest being in 2013. Terrorism in the Philippines is intrinsically tied with the nationalist and separatist claims by people living in the provinces in the southern Philippines,” the report said.

New People’s Army (NPA) were the single most largest group responsible for the deaths in 2014.

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The index also noted that the Philippines has been placed in the top 10 countries most affected by terrorism for a term of six months or more.

Though denied by many, the list also said the Philippines was responsible for numerous fighters found in Iraq and Syria.

“The flow of foreign fighters into Iraq and Syria since 2011 is the largest influx in modern times. Current estimates now range from 25,000 to 30,000 fighters, from roughly 100 countries,” the report noted.

The study also showed the terrorism has reached an all-time cost high of $52.9 billion (USD).

It also said that terrorism continues to rise throughout the world with over 32,000 deaths recorded due to it – this number is an 80 per cent increase on previous years.

Also in 2014, about 18,000 people were killed, while groups like Boko Haram and Islamic State were tagged responsible for 51 per cent of terrorist deaths around the world.

The study said 78 per cent of the deaths and 57 per cent of the attacks occurred in five countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan and Syria.

Iraq is still the country most affected by terrorism with about 9,000 casualties, the highest ever recorded in a single country.

Nigeria, meanwhile, experienced the highest increase in terrorist activity with about 7,500 deaths.

The majority of the deaths did not occur in the West, the study said, and 70 per cent of these were “lone wolf” attacks.

Political extremism usually triggered terrorism and not Islamic fundamentalism in Western countries, it pointed out.

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