The 10 Worst Terrorist Disasters of All Time

Introduction 

Terrorism is the use of force/violence to instill fear or communicate political ideology. Terrorist attacks are known to inflict negative implications that affect a country's stability. The most notable terrorist catastrophe, the World Trade Center on 11 th September 2011 led to massive loss of life and properties. Government and personal resources that could have been used in other useful purposes are directed towards emergency response and recovery efforts. Critical sectors of the economy, such as tourism suffer a great deal after the occurrence of terrorist acts. (Gaibulloev & Sandler, 2019). Vulnerabilities in the societal and political sectors play a huge role in dictating the extent to which society is affected by disasters. It matters how well a government is prepared to face terrorist disasters before, during, and after the events occur. Therefore, this study focuses on terrorist acts and recommends the most appropriate emergency response measures. Some of the key areas addressed include the history, growth, trends, sects, cost, severity and emergency response measures of terrorist disasters.

History of Terrorism 

Terrorism cannot be defined as a recent or new phenomenon, nor is it an exclusive Islamist act. It has a long history with varied ideological stimulations. One could claim that the terrorist acts witnessed are a product of western civilization. It was one of the methods commonly employed during prehistoric times to realize political change. Political terrorism was notable among militants seeking to spread their political credo. The Narodnaya Volya attack (1881) also referred to as 'The People's Will' marked the emergence of political terrorist organizations (Lynn, 2019). The Narodnaya Volya, a self-proclaimed Russian revolutionary group, executed a dynamite explosion attack on the entourage of Russian Emperor Tsar Alexander II. Surprisingly, the assassination of Tsar Alexander II was admired and welcomed by some Western observers. Little did the Western observers know of the precedence that was set by this unfortunate political terrorist act! Despite the lack of a universal definition of terrorism, it is recognized as the use of credo or politically instigated violence to intimidate governments and people or achieve particular political agendas.

Growth of Terrorist Attacks 

The occurrence of the 9/11 terrorist attack prompted lawmakers to declare terrorist attacks as another type of disaster to global security. Numerous publishers even suggested that the 9/11 tragedy fundamentally changed the world dynamics leading to the conflict between Western nations and Islamic terror groups, which they dubbed as ‘World War 4' (Gaibulloev & Sandler, 2019). That attack on the World Trade Center signifies the onset of modern terrorism. Similar to how the fall of the Cold War marshaled the world into the concept of terrorism from separatist/leftist/ nationalist tenets, the September 2011 disaster signified a shift in the inspiration of terrorism to the fundamentalist and religious domains. In the New York Times publication, it was stated that the deaths due to terrorism had increased remarkably since 2015. The description compounds the idea that people live in a world that is more insecure and tense as compared to the past. Therefore, fifteen years later, after the September 2011 attack, the world follows closely as the number of terrorist and civil disasters continues to rise steadily (Smith & Zeigler, 2017). The figure below illustrates the rise in terrorist attacks beginning from 1970 through 2014.

Figure 1. Rise in Terrorist attacks (1970-2014) 

Source: Smith and Zeigler (2017) 

Regions that have registered a high rise in terrorism acts include Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. More than 71 percent of all terrorist acts have occurred in the three regions during the last 11 years. However, African countries are the worst hit since the proportion of terrorist attacks has risen from a mere 3% in 2003 to an astonishing 15% of total terrorist attacks by 2017 (Smith & Zeigler, 2017). The volatility of the region, coupled with its vulnerability to armed conflicts are key factors responsible for the high growth in the number of terrorist attacks.

Preferred means of Propagating Terror Disasters 

Shooting massacres and bombings are widely used methods in carrying out terrorist acts. Terrorist organizations presently employ the above techniques and are likely to continue using them in future attacks (Martin, 2017). Terrorists prefer these tactics as they are less costly and most comfortable in inflicting mass causalities. Though bombings are considered the most catastrophic, armed assault rank are the most rampant and deadliest. Recent statistics indicate an average of 5.5 deaths per shooting sprees targeting innocent civilians relative to 2.6 deaths per explosions/bombing attacks (Institute of Economics & Peace, 2017). More than half of terrorist acts are propagated using explosions and bombs while armed assault accounts for about 20% of terrorist accidents. However, when innocent civilians are the primary target, armed assaults are seen to be the deadliest compared to bombings because 36% of explosions/bombs lead to no causalities. Hence, terrorist organizations use explosions and blasts as a means of increasing negotiating locations instead of inflicting the high number of causalities. For instance, out of the 116 explosions carried out by the FLNC (Corsican National Liberation Front), only one person was killed (Institute of Economics & Peace, 2017). In another case, 66 different terror organizations carried out bombings in 2015, and not a single person died. 

Global trends and the Vulnerability of Terrorist acts 

The countries that are most affected by terrorism in the world are Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Iraq. Actually, since the beginning of the 21 st century, about 57% of deaths resulting from terror disasters have occurred in these four nations. Iraq is the most affected, with 30% of the deaths, followed by Afghanistan, Nigeria, and finally Pakistan. In the United States, the highest number of deaths due to terrorist acts occurred in the New York World Trade Center Bombing hence amounting to 97% of total deaths since the year 2000. Presently, no country in the world is spared from the threat of terrorist acts (Estrada & Koutronas, 2016). Countries such as Sweden and Denmark, which had no prior history of terrorist acts experienced terror attacks in 2015. 

Several factors make a state/country less prone to terrorist attacks. Politically developed states, as indicated by increased political rights, are less likely to suffer from terrorist acts. Also, countries that export more of their products suffer from less terrorist acts. Another factor that influences the probability of terrorist's disasters is the spatial distribution and demographic structure of a particular region (Jenkins, Willis & Han, 2016). Areas that have higher urban population are more prone to terror attacks. Urban areas are targeted since they hold much potential damage and have more visibility. 

Deadliest Terrorist Groups 

Four major terror organizations are responsible for most of the world terror disasters. The ISIL (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) is considered to be perhaps the deadliest terror organization world. The group is mainly based in Iraq and Syria and is believed to have emerged from the al-Qaida. ISIL aims to establish a region of Islamic law in the Levant region (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Israel). Notably, it strongly opposes and wages jihad (holy war) against the Yezidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims. The group is under the leadership of Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Through 943 incidents, ISIL is responsible for over 6,141 death and more than 6,208 injuries (Steiner, 2017). Its location of attacks includes Palestine, Somalia, France, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and Bahrain. 

The Boko Haram is considered the second most deadly terrorist group. From 491 incidents, the terror group has caused over 5,478 deaths and 3,376 injuries. Boko Haram attacks are primarily located in Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Burkina Faso. The group began its operation in 2009 after the Nigerian government killed their leader, Mohammed Yusuf. The name ‘Boko Haram' translated to English means ‘Western education is forbidden.' Presently, their leader is Abubakar Shekau (Allen, 2017). The group terror acts are aimed at converting the entire state of Nigeria to an Islamic region. 

The third most deadly group is the Taliban of Afghanistan. Founded by Mohamad Omar in the year 1994, the Taliban resisted Invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet and held power in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 when it was defeated by the American-led NATO (Institute of Economics & Peace, 2017). Through 1,094 incidents, the Taliban is responsible for more than 4,502 deaths and 4,685 injuries. Majority of terror disasters perpetrated by the Taliban are in Afghanistan. Terror attacks by the Taliban resurged in 2013 when NATO withdrew its forces from the region. 

The Al-Qaida is the fourth deadliest terror group in the world. The grouping has six key affiliations; the Abdullah Azzam brigades, Al-Qaida in the Indian subcontinent, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the Al-Nusrah Front and the Al-Shabaab. The terror group was formed by Osama bin Laden and is responsible for the 9-1-1 World Trade Center terrorist disaster. Out of 368 incidents carried out by the al-Qaida, more than 1,620 death and 969 injuries have occurred (Institute of Economics & Peace, 2017). The group has carried out attacks in the U.S., Yemen, Somalia, Mali, Kenya, Algeria, Uganda, Pakistan, France, Bangladesh, Mali, and Syria. 

These are not the only terrorist groups as there are many other smaller terrorist sects. Majority of these terror groups are confined to lower geographical regions, with the distribution of their attacks being small though fatal. During the year 2018, more than 168 terror groups caused the death of a least one person. For instance, in a country such as Nigeria, other terror groups apart from the Boko Haram are responsible for terror disasters. They include the Fulani and Bachama. In India, the Maoist (Communist Party of India) has caused more than 200 deaths (Dominc, 2018) . In various countries globally, other smaller terrorist groups exist. 

Cost of Terror Disasters 

Ever since the start of 2007, the economic impact of terrorism disasters has continuously surged. The highest financial price was recorded in 2014 when US$106 billion was incurred. According to 2015 data, the economic impact of terrorist acts accounted for 14.2% of the global economic effects of conflict (Lutz & Lutz, 2017). Hence, as the number of conflict around the world increases, the state of terrorism disasters has worsened, and its economic impact continues to rise. Majority of financial costs are linked to global spending on peacebuilding and peacekeeping missions. The United States budgeted US$6.7 billion for the period June 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019, towards prevention of terror disasters through peacekeeping missions. The U.S. is by far the most significant contributor followed by China (Löwenheim & Steele, 2010). The financial contributions are channeled towards financing peacebuilding expenditure and peacekeeping operations. Peacebuilding funding is aimed at developing resilience to avert future terrorist acts while peacekeeping operations entail response to terrorist acts. 

Destruction of physical assets ranks as another high economic cost of terrorism disasters. For instance, the September 11 th terrorist disaster ruined physical assets amounting to US$0.7 billion for the Federal government, US$1.5 billion for local and state authorities and US$14 billion for private stakeholders. US$11 billion was used towards rescue and cleanup operations. Terrorist acts also lead to disruption and paralysis of transportation networks (Lindell, Prater & Perry, 2007). Four days preceding the 11 September terror disaster, the Ports of New Jersey and New York, were closed (Richardson, Pan, Park & Moore, 2015). Additionally, air transportation to and out of the region was suspended for four days. The tightening of border crossing after terror disasters leads to delay in supply chain systems and spoiling of goods. Delays and rising transaction costs negatively influence the elasticity of trade between nations. 

Mortality, forms of Injury and Severity 

The two objectives of terrorist attacks are lethality (number of causalities) and casualty generation (number of people killed and injured from a single weapon). Casualty generation primarily determines the total individuals in the vicinity and the magnitude of attack/explosion. On the other hand, lethality is maximized when a terror disaster occurs in an indoor location, thus leading to a building collapse. Reports from previous terrorist attacks provide consistent patterns of mortality and injury, thus creating a favorable opportunity to prepare and plan for possible future terror disasters. The occurrence of terror disaster in indoor locations, building collapses, and specific magnitude of explosions show the possibility of immediate deaths and fatalities before arrival to a medical care (Steiner, 2017) . Taking into account variables influencing terror disasters that lead to building collapse shows a more significant indication of immediate deaths. 

Availability of medical resources is the other key determinant of mortality from terror disasters. The absence of well-equipped and definitive medical care facilities leads to increased time for transportation and rescue of terror survivors, thus leading to a rise in the mortality rate (Löwenheim & Steele, 2010). However, regions with sophisticated and extensive medical care and transportation systems can launch quick rescue and transport services, thereby significantly reducing mortality rates. 

Critical body systems injuries are observed during terror disasters. Head injuries are responsible for most fatalities. Majority of survivors are perceived to suffer from musculoskeletal and soft tissue injuries. While more than 50 percent of mortality among the survivors is caused by head injury, majority of survivors suffering from a head injury are not severe as most deaths result from trauma. It is critical to observe that the physical distribution of injuries among terror disaster explosions is disproportional to the anatomical surface area (Raux et al., 2019). For instance, head injuries are frequent despite the head and neck occupying 12% of the anatomical surface area. The explanation provided is that the clothed portion of the body is hardly exposed to injuries like flash burns. 

Response to Terrorist Acts 

Majority of terrorist acts that are successful appear to be somehow random. However, this is not to mean that they are not well orchestrated and thought out by the perpetrators. To successfully launch a terror attack, the terror organization might plan for even more than three years (Lindell, Prater & Perry, 2007). The day of the offense often comes as a surprise since they strike when it is least expected. When a terrorist attack occurs, there is usually no proof that another attack will happen in the same location or elsewhere in the days that follow. It does not mean that efforts to raise awareness and improve security are to be avoided. Improving safety and raising awareness is beneficial for many reasons. One can argue that terrorism disasters do not follow specific dates that might be considered symbolically important (Jenkins, Willis & Han, 2016). Indeed, it is this characteristic or spontaneous nature of terrorist attacks that make it challenging to plan and execute emergency response towards the terror disasters effectively. 

Improving security is one of the significant ways of eliminating or reducing terror attacks. When the first terrorist disaster occurs, it is usually a signal of more to follow. However, as aforementioned, another attack might take months or years to occur. Terrorists that are successful in executing a terror disaster in a particular place can know that the site is vulnerable to their attacks (Wright, 2015). As a result, they exploit those vulnerabilities to launch successive attacks in the same or other locations of the region. A good illustration is the Paris terror attacks. Therefore, the emergency response teams and security have become more vigilant in stopping further attacks by increasing security to limit the vulnerability of the region (Lindell, Prater & Perry, 2007). Through enhanced security, emergency response service respond effectively to hoaxes or incidences of suspicious terrorist activity. It also enables security agencies to diagnose and intervene when terror disaster occur swiftly. 

Preparedness to terrorism disaster is another crucial response mechanism. Emergency response teams should be well equipped with necessary recovery, control, mitigation and prevention tactics, and equipment. Though no government or individual wishes for a terrorist disaster, it is critical to prepare adequately in the event of occurrence. The terrorist blast might use chemical or biological agents, flammable agents, weapons, and explosives during terror attacks (Steiner, 2017). Such agents are detrimental to the people’s health, environment, economy, and infrastructure. Therefore, emergency response services must be equipped with necessary resource when responding to such incidences. Emergency response teams should be thoroughly trained to deal with terror disasters. They should have the safety gear needed to protect themselves and victims against harmful agents and weapons used in the attacks. 

The presence of immediate surgical capability and evacuation procedure is crucial for an emergency response to terrorism disasters. Terrorist acts demand increased surgical assistance and ICU services (Lindell, Prater & Perry, 2007). The government must ensure that its health department has sufficient reserve surgical and ICU capacity to deal with multiple casualties resulting from terrorism disasters (Steiner, 2017). Health facilities must also be well-equipped with essential pharmaceutical supplies. The health system ought to be well-coordinated and never be overwhelmed to offer emergency response services. 

Normalization is another critical response mechanism towards dealing with terrorist acts. It is the recovery process followed by emergency response services after occurrence of a terrorism disaster (Dziegielewski, 2017). The government should implement a coordinated plan in helping and reassuring members of the public of their safety for them to resume normal activities after the occurrence of terrorist acts. If another significant attack happens, the former routinization method should be abandoned, and a new one created. Though recurrence of behavioral and emotional symptoms is likely, it would be in another context of public memory regarding the recent terror disaster (Sirgy, Joshanloo & Estes, 2019). The occurrence of repeated/multiple terror disasters and constant terror attacks often leads to a form of routinization or hardening towards terrorist acts. For instance, in regions such as Lebanon, Israel, and Northern Ireland, the public has become hardened after witnessing terror incidences repeatedly. 

Conclusion 

The study has established that both individual and group incentives prompt terrorist group motives. Different terrorist sects are created to serve varying agendas that might be distinct from each other. The preferred means of propagating terror attacks among terror groups comprise of explosions and armed assaults. Though majority of attacks are carried out using bombings, armed assault is considered the deadliest. Four countries that suffer most from terrorist acts include Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Nigeria. Additionally, the four deadliest terrorist groups are the ISIL, Boko Haram, Al-Qaida, and the Taliban. Terrorist acts are associated with high economic costs, destruction of physical items, paralysis of transportation systems, and massive loss of human life. To effectively respond to terrorist acts, several measures should be followed. Improved security, preparedness for terrorism disasters, presence of immediate surgical and ICU capabilities, and ability to normalize after occurrence of terror attacks are crucial response mechanisms that can be employed. 

References 

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