Iraq ranks first violent country for 2nd time

Iraq is ranked as the country most at risk from violent attacks for the second straight year despite claims of improvement in the country's overall security.

According to Maplecroft's Terrorism Risk Index, although security in Iraq has improved, the scale, human impact and frequency of attacks still make the country the riskiest in the globe.

The statement by the UK-based risk advisory group cites nearly 4,500 civilians killed by terrorist attacks across Iraq last year.

Iraq — which has been witnessing bombings and fighting ever since the US invaded the country — has seen a rise in deadly attacks as Iraqis anxiously await the country's March 7 parliamentary elections.

The index based on 2009 data further ranks Afghanistan second, despite a nine-year-long presence of militaries from the US and its European allies.

Maplecroft's index measures the risks of an attack, the intensity of violence in terms of casualties per incident, a country's history of extremist violence and threats posed against it by militants groups such as al-Qaeda.

The index, however, did not include the civilians killed during operations by US-led forces in the two countries.

According to the risk consultancy group, Pakistan and Somalia stand third and fourth respectively, rated at extreme risk along with Lebanon 5, India 6, Algeria 7, Colombia 8 and Thailand 9.

The US has been militarily or else involved in the first four countries in the list.

The index of 196 countries also shows Thailand joining the nine countries most in danger for the first time with more than 3,900 people killed in the past six years.

In October 2009, bomb attacks in the southern city of Sungai Kolok killed two and wounded 42, largely accounting for the country's rating, a rise from 11 the year earlier.

Iran's ranking also rose to 19 from 25 due to a rise in terror attacks targeting civilians in the country. The country has been the scene of repeated bombings in the capital Tehran, central city of Shiraz and southern provinces of Baluchistan and Khuzestan.

Tehran blames the attacks on agents belonging to the US and Israeli intelligence services operating in the Muslim nation.

The US ended up nowhere better than 46, while countries rated low risk include Germany 81, Canada 116 and Australia 120.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118818§ionid=351020201.