We are inundated with op-ed pieces and analysis on terrorism in ways that would have been all but impossible before the attacks on New York and Washington in 2001 (almost twenty years ago!).
Specialist journals have arisen, offline and online news sources regularly feature stories on terrorist acts and there has been such a proliferation of ‘terrorism experts’ that it is hard to know what – or whom – to believe and why.
At a time when some want us to believe that a nebulous ‘movement’ called right-wing extremism has usurped terrorism public enemy #1 of late – i.e. Islamist violent extremists of the Al Qaeda, Islamic State and others’ ilk – it is important to have a fact-based set of data points that can inform opinion, both at the government and public levels. This weekly feature brought to you by Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting in Russell, Canada is a modest attempt to do juts that.
Every Monday you will receive a report in table form of all the acts that can be deemed terrorist ones (recognising the controversy surrounding the meaning and scope of that term) around the world that occurred over the preceding seven days. It does not purport to be exhaustive in nature: hundreds of open sources are scanned on a daily basis to provide the raw data used to populate the chart. Nevertheless, it is believed that nothing of a truly significant nature will be missed.
With the help of this weekly report readers will be able to decide for themselves what the planet’s major terrorism trends are, who the actors are, and whether we are seeing a shift in tactics or ideologies.
We welcome all feedback on this product, as well as omissions (with original sources please!) to help us make it better.
We hope you enjoy this new feature from Borealis. Please let us know what you think!
This week in terrorism: Jan 25-31, 2021
Group abbreviations: AS (Al Shabaab); BH (Boko Haram); IS (Islamic State, aka ISIS); ISKP (Islamic State Khorasan Province); PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party); YPG (People’s Protection Units)
| Date | Locale | Group (if known) | Dead/Wounded | MO | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Somalia-Kenya | AS? | 9/0 | Guns | Islamist | Learn More |
| 25 | Afghanistan | Taliban? | 0/1 | IED | Islamist | Learn More |
| 26 | Syria | PKK? | 2/2 | IED | Islamist | Learn More |
| Palestine | 0/2 | Knife | Islamist | Learn More | ||
| Afghanistan | Taliban? | 1/1 | IED | Islamist | Learn More | |
| Afghanistan | Taliban? | 0/2 | IED | Islamist | Learn More | |
| 27 | Afghanistan | Taliban? | 0/2 | IED | Islamist | Learn More |
| Somalia | AS? | 1/1 | IED | Islamist | Learn More | |
| 28 | Kenya | AS? | 1/3 | IED | Islamist | Learn More |
| Nigeria | BH | 12/0 | Guns | Islamist | Learn More | |
| Afghanistan | Taliban? | 2/5 | Guns, IEDs | Islamist | Learn More | |
| Afghanistan | Taliban? | 1/4 | mortar | Islamist | Learn More | |
| Afghanistan | ISKP | 4/0 | Guns | Islamist | Learn More | |
| Iraq | IS | 2/0 | Guns | Islamist | Learn More | |
| 30 | Afghanistan | Taliban | 15/5 | Suicide bomber | Islamist | Learn More |
| Afghanistan | Taliban | 1/4 | IED | Islamist | Learn More | |
| 31 | Somalia | AS | 2/11 (probably more) | IED/guns | Islamist | Learn More Learn More |
| Syria | 12/29 | Car bombs | Islamist | Learn More | ||
| Syria | YPG | 12/30 | Car bombs | Islamist | Learn More | |
| Nigeria | BH | 3/0 | Guns | Islamist | Learn More |
Totals: 20 attacks; 80 dead; 102 wounded; all attacks carried out by Islamist terrorists (100%)
