Top 5 African countries most affected by terrorism today

Pic credit: Al Jazeera

Somalia

The country plagued with political instability recorded the largest increase in terrorism globally in 2017, as deaths from terrorism rose by nearly 93 per cent, increasing from 762 in 2016 to 1,470 in 2017. The number of terrorist incidents also rose from 248 to 369, a 49 per cent increase.

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Islamist militant group, Al-Shabaab dominates terrorist activity in Somalia, and was responsible for 92 per cent of all terror-related deaths in 2017, said the report. The group was behind the world’s deadliest terror attack in 2017, a truck bombing attack in Mogadishu that resulted in 588 deaths and more than 300 recorded injuries.

The report said the group that has most of its activities restricted to the capital, seized numerous AMISOM and Somali government bases and equipment throughout 2017, controlling highways and ports into major cities such as Kismaayo, Baidoa and Mogadishu. The only other active terrorist group in Somalia in 2017 is Jabha East Africa, a group responsible for 25 terrorism deaths in 2017.