The recent attack on Bastille Day celebrations in Nice is the third mass-casualty assault to hit France in 18 months, and the largest single attack on a Western country since November of last year, when gunmen rampaged through Paris, killing 130. More than a month ago, a gunman stormed into a gay nightclub in Orlando and killed 49 people. The gunman, Omar Mateen, spoke with a 911 operator on the phone and pledged his loyalty to the Islamic State. The event was both a terrorist attack and the largest mass shooting in U.S. history.
The death tolls of attacks in Western countries pale in comparison to daily attacks in other parts of the world. In a few frenzied days in late June and early July, three Islamic-State-linked attacks killed over 350 people. On June 28, three attackers detonated their suicide vests at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport and killed 45 people. On July 1, Bangladesh suffered its worst terrorist attack in history when gunmen killed 20 hostages at a Dhaka restaurant. On July 3, nearly 300 died in a busy Baghdad shopping district.
The total number of deaths from terrorism in the West since January 2015 amounted to 658, whereas 28,031 people have died in terrorist attacks in the rest of the world.
Here’s a look at the timeline of terrorist attacks around the world.
Timeline: Washington Post
The geography of terrorism
The map below shows terrorist attacks with at least five non-militant deaths since January 1, 2015. The Middle East and northern Africa account for over two-thirds of terrorism deaths since January 2015, with multiple attacks occurring daily, each claiming at least a dozen lives on average.
READ MORE: Nice attack: The victims came from at least 12 countries, including Muslim ones
Map: Washington Post
Hotbeds of terrorism
Nigeria, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are countries most affected by terrorism. Islamic-State-affiliated Boko Haram in Nigeria has carried out increasingly deadly campaigns in recent years, with 2015 being the deadliest.
READ MORE: Banksy highlights truth about terrorism in Pakistan and Turkey
In Syria and Iraq, suicide bombings and armed assaults by Islamic State are a common occurrence. Similarly, in Afghanistan, Taliban have increased their attacks. On June 30, two suicide bombers attacked a convoy entering Kabul and killed 30 police cadets, one of many attacks against security force convoys.
Map: Washington Post
Courtesy: Washington Post.
