War On Terror Is Leading Cause Of Terrorism

More than half of all terrorist deaths during 2007 occurred in Iraq and the world suffered an overall increase in terrorist deaths, partly due to rises in violence in Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as Iraq, the US state department said today.

In its annual counterterrorism report, the US state department said the number of people killed or injured in terrorist attacks jumped to 67,000 in 2007, up from 59,000 the year before. About 60% of those occurred in Iraq.

The number of terrorist attacks in 2007 was roughly flat compared to 2006, indicating that terrorist organisations are become more adept at their deadly craft.

"Around the globe, people are getting increasingly efficient at killing other people," said Russ Travers, deputy director of the national counterterrorism centre. He noted that as security forces improve barriers against car bombs, suicide terrorists have turned to backpacks to deliver explosives.

David Heyman, a terrorism expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, noted the increase in chemical attacks, for instance using chlorine, in Iraq, and said that shows the country is a terrorist training ground in addition to a war zone.

BlackListedNews and Guardian, also Center for Strategic & International Studies