India saw more terror attacks in 2020, the first year of COVID-19 pandemic: Report
Terror attacks in 2020 rose to 679 from 655 attacks in 2019, read the US State Department report on Counter Terrorism
The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 has witnessed more terror attacks than 2019. Terror incidents in 2020 rose to 679 attacks from 655 attacks in 2019, the US State Department said in the report.
Reportedly, Jammu and Kashmir witnessed 257 or 37% of these attacks. India also recorded 567 citizen fatalities. It is 2% of all terror-related deaths worldwide.
Indian states with most terror attacks
The bordering areas of North India, especially Jammu and Kashmir, remain vulnerable to terror attacks. J&K reports most terror incidents and activities, the report added. Chhattisgarh was second with 145 incidents (21.4%), and Jharkhand came third with 69 incidents (10.2%).
However, the Indian government had claimed that terror attacks had decreased in Jammu and Kashmir after repealing Article 370 in 2019. The Union Home Ministry has said that only 244 attacks were reported compared to 594 in 2019.
India was placed in the top 10 countries for most terrorism incidents last year, but it was not featured in the top 10 countries for fatalities. “Indian security agencies are effective in disrupting terror threats, although gaps remain in interagency intelligence and information sharing,” a US State Department report said.
Who attacked India?
The CPI-Maoist was responsible for 44% of the total terror incidents in India, the US State Department report added. The Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen were linked with 6% of all attacks. Around 29% of the attacks were not associated with any terrorist organization.
CPI-Maoist was the fourth most destructive group in the world in 2020. It is involved in 298 incidents and 202 fatalities.
Around the world
At least 10,172 terror attacks were reported across 98 countries in 2020. The figure rose by 1,300 attacks compared with 2019. Afghanistan reported 1,722 terror acts, the most compared to others. Syria came second with 1,322 terror attacks, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo reported one less than a thousand terror attacks.
The Taliban (including the Haqqani Network) was responsible for the most terrorist acts. They were responsible for 1,325 attacks and 7,417 casualties in 2020, followed by ISIS-Core, al-Shabaab, CPI-Maoists, and ISIS-DR Congo.