Page 58 - Islam Denounces Terrorism

56 Islam Denounces Terrorism

What are the reasons for the rise
in suicide attacks?

Politically-inspired suicide attacks in the Middle East initially
emerged in the 1980s, during the Lebanese Civil War, when
Hezbollah began to use suicide attacks against its targets. From
then on until the early 21 Century, some 200 suicide attacks were
st
carried out in different parts of the world. Yet, it was only in the
2000s when these attacks began to grab the headlines with an

ever-increasing frequency as the number of total attacks over
the past three decades reached 3,500. Only in 2013, 291 suicide
attacks were carried out in eighteen countries, claiming the lives
of 3,100 people, marking a dramatic increase of 25% compared
to previous year (with 230 attacks).

Most of these attacks were staged in Muslim countries. The Mid-
dle East, with Iraq coming in at the top of the list, saw too many
suicide attacks to count over the last ten years. Afghanistan, Pak-
istan, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Libya, Somalia, Mali and Nigeria are

among the Muslim countries that are frequently hit by suicide
attacks.

What drove the increase in the attacks? The political instability in
these countries is an important factor. Despite the common
assumption that suicide bombings target occupying powers, only
32% of the attacks were actually carried out in countries where a
foreign army was present. 68% of the bombings target the own
citizens of the country; in other words, innocent civilians are over-
whelmingly the victims in these attacks.

In countries like Iraq and Syria, the attacks are usually prompted
by sectarian and ethnic differences, while in Egypt they are usu-