Terrorist Incidents Research Articles

Classification of Duration in Global Terorism using ResNet

Terrorism is a global threat that affects the political, economic, and social stability of many countries. The number of victims killed is based on the duration of the terrorism incident. This study uses the Residual Network (ResNet) model to classify terrorism incidents based on the duration of the incident (less than 24 hours and more than 24 hours) using the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) dataset. The GTD data used covers terrorism incidents from 1970 to 2017, with a total of 181,691. After preprocessing the data by converting categorical features to numeric and removing missing values, the data was divided into training, validation, and test sets with a composition of 70%, 15%, and 15%. The results show that the ResNet model is able to achieve a validation accuracy of 99.61% and a validation loss value of 0.0183. These findings show that the ResNet model is effective in classifying the duration of terrorism incidents and has the potential to be used in the development of better terrorism prevention systems.

Role of Social Media in Supporting Information and Intelligence Gathering by Densus 88

Terrorism in the digital era has rapidly evolved, with terrorist groups increasingly utilizing social media platforms to spread radical ideologies, recruit new members, and plan attacks. Indonesia, having experienced various terrorism incidents, continues to face this ongoing threat. In this context, the Special Detachment 88 Anti-Terrorism Unit (Densus 88) leverages social media as a critical tool for intelligence gathering and preventing terrorist activities. This study aims to explore how Densus 88 utilizes platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to identify, monitor, and analyze terrorism-related activities. Through a qualitative approach, this research investigates the perspectives and experiences of Densus 88 members involved in using social media as an intelligence tool. The findings indicate that social media provides a continuous data stream that can be used to monitor activities, track trends, and identify potential threats at an early stage. However, significant challenges remain, including the vast volume and complexity of data and difficulties in distinguishing genuinely dangerous activities from unrelated content. This study provides valuable insights into the strategic use of social media in counter-terrorism operations and suggests measures to enhance the effectiveness of intelligence gathering in the digital era.

The Impact of Home Environment Insecurity on Tourists’ Self-Protective Behavior in the Event of a Terrorist Attack

Terrorist attacks have a profound and lasting impact on tourism destinations and tourists’ safety. By applying protection motivation theory as the theoretical lens and adopting the threat of a terrorist attack in London as the study context, this study examines the impact of home environment insecurity on tourists’ risk evaluation (i.e., threat and coping appraisals) and self-protective behavioral intentions amid a terrorism incident while traveling. Data were collected from 793 U.S.-based respondents in Amazon-Mturk. The results show that tourists’ home environment insecurity has a positive (vs. negative) impact on their threat (vs. coping) appraisal of the terrorism related risk. Notably, the lack of security in one’s home environment indirectly affects tourists’ tendency to adopt self-protective measures, through tourists’ coping appraisal in relation to their self-efficacy and response-efficacy. This study offers valuable theoretical and practical insights that may enhance tourist safety during a terrorism incident.

Macroeconomic volatility and terrorism incidents in Africa

AbstractThis article investigates the impact of macroeconomic volatility on terrorism in 38 African economies spanning the period from 1980 to 2012, using available data. It examines four categories of terrorism markers: domestic, transnational, uncertain, and total, and their correlation with the volatility of four macroeconomic indicators—inflation, output growth, domestic credit to the private sector, and government expenditures. The study employs the negative binomial regression estimator on both the conditional variance structures of the generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) and exponential GARCH (EGARCH) and the unconditional measure of a 3‐year interval time varying of measuring macroeconomic variables' volatilities on other regressors. I find, first, that inflation volatility is a significant predictor of all terrorism markers, except for transnational terrorism. This implies that high inflation volatility is linked to increased domestic terrorism. Second, the role of domestic credit to the private sector in mitigating transnational terrorist activities highlights the importance of stable private sector access to credit in reducing such incidents. Third, government consumption expenditure volatility has a dual effect on terrorism: it amplifies domestic terrorism but serves as a mitigating factor for total terrorism. This indicates that stable government expenditure can reduce overall terrorism, but might increase domestic terrorism. Last, other variables—such as population, ethnicity, conflicts, surface areas, and lagged terrorism values—are also found to influence the examined terrorism measures. For robustness, I employ alternative statistical techniques, including Poisson Pseudo‐maximum likelihood (PPML) estimation with multiple high‐dimensional fixed effects (HDFE). In summary, this study emphasizes the critical role of addressing inflation volatility in macroeconomic policies as a primary measure to counter terrorism. Stable economic conditions, particularly in relation to inflation, can significantly contribute to reducing terrorism in African economies.

DDAH1 deficiency exacerbates cerebral vascular endothelial dysfunction by aggravating BBB disruption and oxidative stress in thoracic blast-induced brain injury

As terrorist incidents and underground explosion events have become more frequent around the world, brain injury caused by thoracic blast exposure has been more highlighted due to its injured organ, subsequent social and economic burden. It has been reported dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase 1 (DDAH1) plays important roles in regulating vascular endothelial injury repair and angiogenesis, but its role in thoracic blast-induced brain injury remains to be explained. This study seeks to investigate the mechanism of DDAH1 on thoracic blast-induced brain injury. 40 C57BL/6 wild type mice and 40 DDAH1 knockout mice were randomly and equally divided into control group and blast group, respectively. The integrity of blood-brain barrier (BBB) was detected by Evans blue test. The serum inflammatory factors, nitric oxide (NO) contents, and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels were determined through ELISA. HE staining and reactive oxygen species (ROS) detection were performed for histopathological changes. Western blot was used to detect the proteins related to oxidative stress, tight junction, focal adhesion, vascular endothelial injury, and the DDAH1/ADMA/eNOS signaling pathway. DDAH1 deficiency aggravated thoracic blast-induced BBB leakage, inflammatory response, and the increased levels of inflammatory-related factors. Additionally, DDAH1 deficiency also increased ROS generation, MDA and IRE-α expression. Regarding cerebral vascular endothelial dysfunction, DDAH1 deficiency increased the expression of MCAM, FN1, LIMK1, VEGF, MMP9, Vimentin and N-cadherin, while lowering the expression of FMR1, Occludin, claudin-3, claudin-5, Lyn, LIMA1, Glrb, Sez6, Dystrophin, and phosphorylation of VASP. Also, DDAH1 deficiency exacerbated explosion-induced increase of ADMA and decrease of eNOS activity and NO contents. Thus, we conclude that DDAH1 could prevent cerebral vascular endothelial dysfunction and related injury by inhibiting ADMA signaling and increasing eNOS activity in thoracic blast induced brain injury.

Innovative ways of dealing with unforeseen events

Innovative ways of dealing with unforeseen events Dorothy Sutherland Olsen and Lisa Scordato from the Nordic Institute for Studies of innovation, research and education, explore innovative ways of dealing with unforeseen events. Increasing interest in the challenges experienced by public and private organisations when unforeseen events occur, has prompted a research project looking into potential ways of developing relevant competence to deal with such events. The project has been inspired by earlier studies on innovation where change is seen, not only as a challenge, but also as an opportunity. Unforeseen events have always been around, ready to disrupt everyday routines in organisations. These events are not always completely unforeseen, but the scale is often unknown, and we can rarely predict exactly when these events might occur. These events can be pandemics, terror incidents or natural catastrophes; they can also be new technologies, new green ways of working or perhaps more local events like an employee leaving confidential documents on the bus or a construction team dropping a six-tonne oil installation. All these events require a rapid response; speed is of the essence, and errors and delays must be avoided.

The identity of religion always comes up: the war, the mass media and the reproduction of Muslim identity in the west

Islamophobia in the media occurs when media sources present hostile, inaccurate, and/or deceptive stories about Islam, Muslims, or Arabs. Islamophobia is the term used to describe strong antipathy or prejudice toward Muslims, intense hatred or fear of Islam, particularly as a political force, and the study of how and to what extent the media promotes There has been a lot of scholarly and political discourse on Islamophobia. The discourse around Islamophobia in the media often focuses on the rhetorical strategies utilized by individual media outlets or by the mass media of a given nation or region, such the US or Europe. A few instances of this are when Islam is portrayed in a poor light relative to other religions, when Muslims are linked to terrorism, when Muslims and their followers are portrayed as aggressive or primitive, and when Muslim viewpoints are excluded from discussions on politics and academia, among other subjects. On the other hand, reactions to talks about Islamophobia in the media frequently cast doubt on what actually qualifies as Islamophobia, how frequently, how severe, and how effective Islamophobic language is, as well as the political reasons for such talks. This study aims to determine whether or not there was obvious inherent bias by examining the tone, structure, and topics offered by the print media prior to a terrorist event. This study examines how the world press has connected Islam to terrorism and emphasizes how subliminal print messages might contribute to Muslim racial profiling and the spread of Islamophobia. The editorials of six prominent international newspapers between 2014 and 2017 provided the data for this study, which created strata of ten significant worldwide terrorism incidents at random. The investigator examined editorials for a month following the event. The researcher’s results and conclusions are obtained by statistical interpretation following data analysis using event methodology and content analysis.

Türkiye: Terrorist Incidents and Foreign Direct Investment

This study aims to evaluate whether there is a correlation and unidirectional or bidi rectional causality between terrorist incidents and foreign direct investment in Türkiye. Toda Yamamoto elucidates that there is no long-term relationship. RLS, on the other hand, reveals that there is a short-term relationship, and that produces a more fascinating result. While foreign direct investment does not increase terrorist incidents, terrorist incidents possess a positive effect on for eign direct investment. In this case, terrorist actions increase foreign direct investment to Türkiye in the short term. It also appears that terrorist incidents concentrated in big cities do not possess a deterrent effect on foreign direct investments concentrated in big cities. Keywords: Terrorist incidents, foreign direct investment, RLS, Toda Yamamoto causality, Türkiye.

Regional Dynamics and Counterterrorism: Pakistan-Russia Collaboration in Central Asia

Pakistan and Russia face threats from terrorist organizations such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), the East Turkestan Liberation Organization (ETLO), and the Grey Wolves, which have extended their influence into Central Asia. These groups pose serious security challenges for Pakistan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, with Pakistani intelligence often tracing terrorist incidents back to these organizations. This study explores the geostrategic dynamics and security challenges in Central Asia and the potential for a strategic partnership between Pakistan and Russia. To investigate the potential and implications of a strategic partnership between Pakistan and Russia for regional security and stability. The research involves a comprehensive literature review and analysis of efforts by the Counter Terrorism Implementation Task Forces (CTITF) under the United Nations and the United Nations Center for Regional Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNCRPDCA). It examines their impacts on Russia-Pakistan relations within the context of regional dynamics and strategic interests. The study finds that a Pak-Russia strategic partnership could enhance regional security and stability through improved counterterrorism efforts, including intelligence sharing and joint military exercises. It highlights the mutual challenges and geopolitical tensions that may affect this partnership. The paper provides valuable insights into the potential strategic partnership between Pakistan and Russia to address shared security threats and the role of international organizations in facilitating counterterrorism initiatives in the region.

How Effective Are the Post-9/11 U.S. Counterterrorism Policies Within and Outside the United States?

This study examined the effectiveness of post-9/11 U.S. counterterrorism policies in preventing terror attacks and reducing casualties against American targets within and outside the United States. Monthly data on terrorism incidents from July 1981 through December 2020 were obtained from the Global Terrorism Database ( N = 462). The results of monthly interrupted time-series analyses showed that within the United States, after the 9/11 attacks, the number of attacks, the number of successful attacks, and the successful attack rate statistically significantly decreased in the first month following 9/11; then, no significant increase was observed in the trend of those outcomes. Outside the United States, after the 9/11 attacks, the trend of the number of successful attacks, the number of victims, the number of nonfatal victims, and the victim rate statistically significantly decreased. The results suggest that post-9/11 U.S. counterterrorism policies are effective both domestically and internationally. These findings and their policy implications are discussed.

The effects of mortality salience on perceived risk and trust in the managing bodies of nuclear power: The moderating effect of nuclear power support

AbstractPublic concern regarding nuclear power has arisen due to accidents involving radiation leakages, natural disasters, terrorism, war and other incidents. That is, people's concerns regarding the use of nuclear power have grown as situations that threaten their survival have increased. This study uses terror management theory to examine how mortality salience affects people's risk perception and trust in the managing bodies of nuclear power. The results of Study 1 and Study 2 revealed that when the level of support for nuclear power is low, the effect of mortality salience increases trust in the managing bodies. Study 2's findings reveal mortality salience leads to decreased risk perception of nuclear power. In the case of risks that are managed by others and that are difficult to understand, such as nuclear power, people tend to place higher value on the managing bodies because they cannot handle the risk themselves. These results highlight the changes in people's perceptions of nuclear power managing bodies when they are conscious of death and provide important information on the nature of communication between citizens and experts regarding nuclear power.

Immediate and evolving emotions among directly exposed survivors 7 years after the Oklahoma City bombing

The Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 was one of the most devastating incidents of terrorism in America at that time. Existing research has not examined changes in emotional responses outside of psychopathology to disaster over time. The sample for this study consisted of adult participants randomly selected from a state registry of survivors who were directly exposed to the 1995 bombing in Oklahoma City. The Disaster Supplement to the Diagnostic Interview Schedule was used to collect participants’ demographic information and qualitative details of their disaster experience, perceptions, and feelings. A total of 315 items resulted from the coding of responses pertaining to emotions (125 immediately after the disaster event, 140 in the following week, and 50 at approximately seven years postdisaster). The most common emotions in the immediate postdisaster period were shock, fear, and anxiety. In the following week, the most common were sorrow and anger. At seven years, sorrow was the most frequently expressed of all emotions. Understanding the progression of these feelings across time enhances the ability to anticipate responses at different postdisaster timeframes and to intervene in a timely manner.

Terror in the City: Local Terrorism and Firm Exports

Abstract In this paper, we examine the relationship between terrorism and exports at the firm-level. We use a panel data of 301 firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange and records of terrorist attacks in Pakistani cities from 1999 to 2014. By calculating city-level terrorism indices, the study reveals significant variations in the frequency of terrorist incidents both between cities and within cities over different time periods. Our panel regressions show that firm exports are correlated with terrorist attacks in the cities where the firms are located, and these correlations are statistically significant even when terrorism is lagged up to six years. Interregional spillover effects of terrorism are less pronounced. While a negative correlation can be found between firm exports and our terrorism indices, the correlation with domestic sales tends to be statistically insignificant. The findings shed light on the persistent link between local terrorism and firms’ international and domestic operations.

Case Report: Multidisciplinary management of severe blast-related craniofacial and ocular injuries at artisanal gold mining sites in Niger: An unusual case report and comprehensive literature review

Blast-related craniofacial and ocular injuries have traditionally been associated with battlefields. In civilian populations, these injuries were infrequent, primarily arising from accidental explosions or terrorism incidents. Explosions can inflict severe damage to the neurological, ocular, and auditory systems through blast waves, high-velocity foreign bodies, and thermal radiation. The pathophysiology of blast-related craniofacial injuries is specific and complex, with severe cases often involving both penetrating and blunt trauma, leading to high mortality and morbidity rates. These injuries necessitate multidisciplinary management and can be defined as intracranial polytrauma. Recently, Niger has seen a surge in blast injuries, predominantly due to the increase in clandestine artisanal gold mining. Managing these injuries in resource-limited settings poses significant challenge. Comprehensive national data on these injuries are sparse due to high pre-hospital mortality rates and their infrequent occurrence, resulting in limited experience among our local physicians in their management. We present a rare case involving an artisanal gold miner with a history of smoking and previous concussions from explosion exposures. The patient was transferred to our hospital following severe craniofacial and ocular injuries caused by an accidental dynamite explosion at a mining site. On admission, the patient presented altered consciousness, agitation, unstable vital signs, multiple craniofacial wounds, including a large frontal wound with brain substance extrusion, diffuse facial burns, left globe rupture, and rhinorrhagia. After resuscitation and stabilization, brain imaging revealed multiple complex craniofacial fractures with foreign bodies. The patient underwent multidisciplinary surgical management. However, the postoperative course was complicated by post-concussive syndrome, and infection of the surgical wounds, necessitating surgical revision. Following the second surgery, the postoperative course was uneventful, although the patient experienced reduced visual acuity. This case highlights the management challenges in Niger and underscores the urgent need for clinical studies and training for gold miners to enhance safety practices in their activities.

Fostering community resilience through the lived experience of terrorist incidents

PurposeUnderstanding community resilience and collective efficacy is essential in terrorist-ridden areas. This study aims to investigate the role of communities in fostering collective resilience in response to violent acts of terrorism. It utilizes social capital and collective efficacy theories to explore the complicated relationship between community resilience and self-efficacy in terrorist-ridden areas.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed an interpretive methodology and conducted thematic data analysis. It documented insights and lessons learned from the diverse perspectives of community stakeholders through semi-structured interviews with 21 participants residing in Quetta, Pakistan. Interviews took place in March and April 2023.FindingsThe study demonstrates that community resilience contributes significantly to violent acts of terrorism. After carefully going through data exploration, four intriguing themes appear. The first theme pertained to participants experiencing stress due to terrorism incidents, highlighting the frequency of such stressful events. The second theme examined the escalating backdrop of terrorism, which perpetually looms, prompting communities to fortify their resilience against this persistent threat. The third theme, community resilience during terrorist violence and active participation, revealing active participation in activities aimed at enhancing community quality of life. The fourth theme emphasized the challenges associated with community engagement in resilience-building efforts.Originality/valueThis study advances the understanding of community resilience in terrorist-ridden areas. In addition, it furthers discourse and provides ways for the implementation of strategies aimed at strengthening community resilience following terrorist incidents.

Does Fiscal Decentralization Mitigate Domestic Terrorism?

Abstract Many countries have embarked on decentralization as a way to mitigate separation tendencies. Even though decentralization could satisfy some separation tendencies, the central government might be unable or unwilling to award the localities the level of decentralization they require to stay in the union. This mismatch may give rise to domestic violence and internal conflict. We propose a simple two-stage model that combines the decentralization and domestic terrorism literature in a single structural model, which can be readily tested using existing data in the disciplines. As long as the actual decentralization level meets the unobserved desired value by the localities, there will be a high likelihood of observing a zero incidence of domestic terrorism. Otherwise, the incidents happen regularly with mitigating effects from decentralization. Our model also accounts for the left-censoring of the terrorism data at zero. We examine our model using 5-year interval panel data of more than 60 countries based on the information for 1970–2019. Our results indicate a strong negative and statistically significant relationship between fiscal decentralization and domestic terrorism events. One percent increase in fiscal decentralization is associated with a two to three percent decline in domestic terrorism incidents. The coefficients of the selection model and domestic terrorism model generally conform to the literature.

Topical dynamics of terrorism from a global perspective and a call for action on global risk

Research on terrorism is a sensitive and critical aspect globally from a security perspective that calls for an action policy. Since 9/11, terrorism has been considered a high risk or a disaster for global governance without geographical exceptions. Its association with political and economic and the severity of causalities it causes leaves a worrisome and long-lasting impact on global cohesion and peacefulness, just like a natural disaster would. This study unveils the political and policy measures, public expenditures, and likely external intervention determinants and their association with terrorism in the panel data of 151 countries from 2012 to 2022. The statistics of SGMM say that political stability is the most impactful and significant factor in reducing terrorism globally. External intervention from political agencies and economic forces is the second-most influential factor in mitigating terrorism incidents. The study further observes that the effectiveness of counter-terrorism measures and policy implementation has proven less impactful in mitigating terrorism. The innovative findings of this study state that government expenditures toward basic facilities are impactful in deterring terrorism but do not have a significant role in global analysis. The study recommends that the EU and America should collaborate and work on Asian and African regional security, rather than invade state security and sovereignty as part of their collective measures of counter-terrorism. A collaborative effort helps eradicate external evil forces or groups and sustain the state and global peace.

The role of gold in terrorism: Risk aversion or financing source?

Based on the perspective of terrorism, this study uses a bootstrap full-sample causality test and sub-sample rolling window estimations to explore the risk aversion capability and terrorist financing capability of gold's time-varying dimension. The results suggest that terrorist incidents (defined by the number of terrorist attacks) and terrorist brutality (measured by the number of fatalities produced by terrorist attacks) are important factors in explaining changes in gold prices, but their effects differ. With extensive media coverage, the cause of investors' panic has changed from terrorist incidents to terrorist brutality. The results from some sub-sample periods support the capital asset pricing model by showing that terrorist attacks push up gold prices through a “terror premium.” Considering reverse causality, gold price can be used as an early warning of terrorist attacks, but its terrorist financing function is not yet proven. In the context of increasingly serious terrorism, studying the interaction mechanism between terrorist attacks and gold prices can help investors reasonably plan investments and provide insights for the government on combatting terrorism and maintaining world peace.

TERRORISM: THE CHALLENGE OF AVIATION SECURITY

The paper explores a chronological account of major aviation-related terrorist incidents, including the hijacking of aircraft and attacks such as those on September 11, 2001. These events underscore the vulnerabilities within civil aviation security and highlight the psychological impact of such attacks. This study emphasizes the need for advanced technologies and stringent national and international regulations to combat aviation terrorism. It discusses the evolution of aviation security measures, the importance of a holistic approach involving airlines, airport authorities, security forces, and governmental bodies, and the necessity of information sharing and best practices adoption. Additionally, the paper addresses the economic implications of aviation security, advocating for better data collection and analysis to optimize resource allocation and enhance overall safety. The ongoing development of aviation security strategies, driven by evolving threats and technological advancements, is critical for safeguarding passengers and ensuring the resilience of the global aviation industry against terrorist threats.

The statistical analysis based on GTD terrorist incident record data

Terrorism refers to the claims and acts that create social panic, endanger public security, infringe upon persons and property, or threaten state organs and organizations to achieve political and ideological goals through violence, sabotage, intimidation and other means. According to the survey, 92 % of the world's countries have been subjected to terrorist attacks to varying degrees, involving South America, the Middle East and North Africa. Since 1970, there have been about 200,000 terrorist incidents worldwide. Global terrorist attacks have a wide range of targets, involving nearly 20 groups, resulting in up to 280,000 deaths and 360,000 injuries. Based on the GTD database, this paper selects the relevant data from 1998 to 2017, and uses the factor analysis model to establish the evaluation index system of terrorist attack harm from the perspective of terrorist attack harm. At the same time, GIS is used for quantitative analysis of the data, and time series model is used for correlation prediction. The results show that the comprehensive evaluation model of terrorist attacks has objectively and accurately evaluated the terrorist attacks in the past 20 years, among which 9/11 incident has the highest degree of harm, followed by the Salam Embassy bombing. The ranking of the harmfulness of the incident is basically consistent with the reports of mainstream media at home and abroad. From the perspective of the global spatial scope of terrorist attacks, terrorist attacks are shifting from North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula to the eastern front, and the Middle East has continued to gather, and the situation of terrorist attacks in the Middle East is not optimistic. At present and for some time to come, international terrorism will remain at a high level, and terrorist attacks will remain concentrated in the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula.