Bleeding 2016

Rising in suicide attacks worldwide are IS’s finals gasps of breath

Though 2016 brought expectations of there being decreased space across the world for terrorists, there was an increased frequency of terror attacks in peaceful areas such Nice on the eve of Bastille Day. This not only increased concerns, but also raised questions regarding the efficacy of ongoing anti-terror operations and apparatus. By hitting countries like France, Bangladesh, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, terrorists have not only registered their presence, but rather strengthened the need to realise that terrorism is not a country-specific concern. Instead, it is a global concern; hence nations will have to come out of denial.

Extremism requires the intervention of communities, otherwise common folk will start questioning the effectiveness of states and governments. Communities, families, teachers, the clergy, academics, psychologists and politicians need to opt for a synchronised diagnostic approach. The first six months of the current year paint a gloomy scenario that warrants not only local intervention but also accelerated and coordinated anti-extremist and anti- terrorist endeavours globally. In January 2016, 28 incidents of suicide bombing were reported worldwide. Afghanistan faced five, Cameroon four, Pakistan and Yemen three each, Iraq, Libya, Chad and Syria, two each, and Somalia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Nigeria, one incident each. In January 2015, however, only nine incidents of suicide bombing were registered globally.

In February 2016, a total of 21 incidents of suicide bombing were reported. Afghanistan faced seven, Iraq three, Yemen two, Cameroon two, Somalia two, Syria two, Turkey one, and Pakistan and Libya one incident each. On the contrary in February 2015, worldwide only one incident of suicide terrorism was reported.

In March 2016, a total of 14 incidents of suicide bombing were reported. Six in Iraq, two in Niger, one in Afghanistan, one in Nigeria, one in Turkey, and one each in Pakistan, Syria and  Somalia. During March 2015, five incidents were reported in Pakistan, Nigeria, Somalia, Libya and Yemen.

In April 2016, a total of 16 incidents of suicide bombing were reported. Eight in Iraq, two in Yemen, one in Somalia, one in Niger, one in Afghanistan, and one each in Nigeria, Turkey and Russia. In April 2015, however, only two incidents of suicide bombings were reported in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In May 2016, a total of 35 incidents of suicide bombing were reported. Sixteen in Iraq, five in Yemen, four each in Afghanistan and Syria, two each in Nigeria and Somalia, and one each in Russia and Turkey. In May 2015, a total of 12 incidents were reported in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Iraq.

In June 2016, a total of 30 incidents of suicide bombing were reported. Sixteen in Iraq, three each in Afghanistan, and Libya, two in Somalia, and one each in Burundi, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Cameroon and Syria. On the contrary, in June 2015, 13 incodents were reported in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Kuwait, Syria, Somalia, Chad and Iraq.

From this statistical scrutiny, it transpires that during first six months of 2015, around 42 cases of suicide terrorism were reported. However during the corresponding period in 2016, around 144 cases of suicide explosions were reported. Suicide terrorism seems primarily to be an Asian and African phenomenon. Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon are countries most infected with the menace of suicide bombings. Turkey and Russia, however, are exceptions as they fall in both Asia and Europe. Libya, Chad, Somalia, Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Burundi have also rapidly come under the influence of extremists groups. By mapping of the incidents of terrorism, it transpires that the current wave of terrorism is primarily concentrated in Muslim countries.

In Afghanistan we have the Taliban; in Pakistan, whe have the offshoots of the TTP; in Somalia, there is al Shabaab; and in Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger and Chad, there is Boko Haram. The IS, however, is the only violent non-state actor that has strongly registered its ideological and operational presence in Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, Indonesia, Syria, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

In Afghanistan, the targets are the police, security forces, courts, jirgas, diplomatic missions and government buildings, while in Iraq, we find military bases, mosques, funeral gatherings, restaurants and gas plants under attack. In Libya, oil ports, the police and ommunity elders have been the targets of terror while in Turkey, tourists, the army and mosques have been targeted. In our own country, the security forces, polio workers and those frequenting public parks have been  targets of terror.

During the first six months of the current year, Baghdad was hit by suicide bombs 16 times, Aden nine times, Kabul six times, Mogadishu six times, Jalalabad four times, Quetta twice, and Mazar-i- Sharif, Peshawar, Lahore, Helmand, Bin-Ghazi, Ankara, Istanbul, Jakarta and Damascus once. Thus, suicide terrorism primarily seems to target either capital cities or major urban centres. During the last decade, Pakistani law enforcement agencies learnt from their failures and tried improving not only the quality of their human resources, but also employed technology-led solutions and secured the Islamabad safe city project.

Another alarming trend is the dispatch of more than one suicide attacker, an example of which was seen on April 4 in Iraq when four suicide attacks were staged in different cities of the country by the IS. Similarly in March, the al-Asad airbase in Iraq was assaulted by 10 suicide bombers.

Apart from attacks on security forces, attacks on the police seem to be another common factor. To dent the morale of police in Libya, a police training camp was targeted, while in Yemen the residence of a police chief was attacked. In Afghanistan, the Kabul police headquarters and the police training centre in Helmand were targeted, in Syria the police officers club, in Iraq and Russia police stations and in Somalia traffic police headquarters were attacked.

From the recent incidents, it is clear that organisations like IS want to remain alive in the media. Therefore, they desperately try to stage coordinated attacks. Likewise, last year, during Ramazan, a surge in terrorist activities was witnessed. This shows that the perpetrators were encouraging the belief that attacks in the holy month would be more rewarding.

During the last one year, the triple suicide bombing at Ataturk airport, mass shooting at a night club in Orlando, assault by two suicide bombers at Brussels airport, a series of coordinated attacks on a football stadium, followed by suicide bombings in Paris, the downing of a Russian flight carrying tourists and a mass shooting at a tourist beach in Tunisia, all illustrate a newly emerging fault line of terrorism. All such events depict innovation, desperation and intrusion of extremists in these societies. They also raise questions regarding the efficacy of these countries' intelligence apparatus. Continuity of such events will negatively impact the global tourism industry.

In an era of globalisation, terrorism is a localised, regional and international reality. Hence, it warrants interventions at all levels. To ward off their heinous activities, countries the world over need to forget historical differences and defeat these extremists, otherwise the innocent will continue to be targeted.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 5^th, 2016.

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