Terrorism Index: ISIS defeats brought Iraq deaths down 32%

(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – Military interventions against the Islamic State in Iraq have brought deaths in the country down by 32%, according to the Global Terrorism Index released on Wednesday.

“Military operations are clearly contributing towards restraining ISIL in Iraq, but the continued appeal of the organisation, evident in the ISIL-inspired attacks in Europe, demonstrates the limitations of a purely military approach,” said Steven Killelea, founder of the Institute of Economics and Peace, which releases the index.

There had been 29,376 deaths caused by terrorism in 2015, a fall of 10 percent, the first in four years, according to the report. “Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria accounted for 78 per cent of the lives lost in 2014,” it added.

Since 2011, between 25,000 and 30,000 fighters, from 100 different countries, have arrived in Iraq and Syria, the report estimated.

On the economic level, the GTI highlighted that Iraq suffered the highest economic impact from terrorism, reaching 17% of its GDP in 2015. Iraq is followed by Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and Syria.

The global economic impact of terrorism reached US$89.6 billion in 2015, said the report.