Terrorism in Somalia
The risk of terrorist attacks in Somalia over the past years can be classified as extremely high. Worldwide this is one of the most dangerous countries with the most and devastating attacks. Over the past 5 years a total number of 1659 terrorist incidents has been recorded, in which 4113 people have been killed and 3598 injured. Among them were 121 suicide acts.In 196 incedents a total of 1373 people have been kidnapped or taken as hostage, though a ransom was rarely (6 times) extorted.
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Most frequent attack targets in Somalia
(2013 to 2017)| Target | Attacks | Killed | Injured | Hostages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private citizens | 708 | 2,266 | 1,775 | 1,074 |
| Government | 484 | 1,046 | 1,022 | 109 |
| Military | 252 | 996 | 892 | 116 |
| Business | 160 | 1,274 | 1,313 | 112 |
| Police | 150 | 313 | 350 | 4 |
| Journalists & Media | 40 | 59 | 67 | 9 |
| Transportation | 28 | 119 | 93 | 20 |
| Airports & Aircraft | 23 | 604 | 343 | 0 |
| NGO | 21 | 14 | 17 | 52 |
| Non-state militias | 21 | 132 | 32 | 38 |
Most affected regions
(2013 to 2017)| Region | Attacks | Killed | Injured | Hostages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banaadir | 730 | 2,086 | 2,198 | 105 |
| Lower Shebelle | 216 | 358 | 228 | 327 |
| Lower Juba | 117 | 290 | 179 | 196 |
| Bay | 111 | 391 | 287 | 141 |
| Hiiraan | 103 | 224 | 134 | 95 |
| Gedo | 93 | 145 | 128 | 53 |
| Mudug | 63 | 138 | 120 | 92 |
| Bari | 55 | 171 | 175 | 13 |
| Middle Shebelle | 53 | 129 | 75 | 26 |
| Galguduud | 45 | 67 | 44 | 194 |
| Bakool | 30 | 54 | 18 | 22 |
| Middle Juba | 23 | 31 | 0 | 106 |
| Nugaal | 8 | 24 | 9 | 0 |
| Woqooyi Galbeed | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sool | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Awdal | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Togdheer | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Terrorist organisations in Somalia
| Organisation | Attacks | Killed | Injured | Hostages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Shabaab | 1347 | 3,810 | 3,230 | 1,351 |
| Jabha East Africa | 10 | 25 | 18 | 12 |
| Raskamboni Movement | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Islamic State | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
All information sourced from the "National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism" (START) and its Global Terrorism Database. An act of terrorism is concidered every incident which is aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal, but not for pure profit motives. In addition these incidents must not be legitimized by warfare activities, listet in the Geneva Conventions of 1949.