Terrorism: Leaving a Trail of Death & Destruction

Terrorism is the most deadly menace affecting almost every person in the world today. From the snow laden peaks of the Alps in Switzerland, to the ever widening gorges of the Andes Mountain Range in the south American region; from the desert oasis of Dubai to the land of the rising sun; Japan in the far-east, there is no place on earth which is untouched by this terror spreading phenomenon called terrorism.

Unfortunately in the past decade, the incidents of terrorism have seen a serious rise, resulting in huge loss of invaluable human lives around the world. The brutal acts of terrorism have indeed left deep indelible scars on the lives of those who have been affected by it. Many children have been orphaned, many dreams have been destroyed; many brilliant life spans have been cut-short by the venomous tentacles of terrorism.

The entire world today seems to be bleeding by these inhuman acts of violence. In these 8 years spanning the new millennium, we have lost more than 8000 precious lives, along with billions of assets and public property to this deadly beast of terrorism; which is now threatening the very core of peaceful human existence. America has 9/11 etched in its memory; while Spain is still having nightmares about the 3/11 train bombings, which left nearly 200 dead and created utter chaos and destruction in Madrid. The latest target has been Mumbai, India, which was turned into a virtual battleground for 50 hours, before the world heritage site Taj Hotel and trident hotels could be set free from the seize of terrorists holed inside.

It seems that terrorists seem to be having an upper hand in this sense killing and destruction; and more than once, the security agencies have been virtually caught unaware of their next strike; a fact that is sadly illustrated in these figures below, which show a timeline of these horrible acts of inhuman cruelty.

Date Terror Act Deaths

• 10 Aug 2001 attack on train south of Luanda, Angola 152
• 11 Sep 2001 crashing of hijacked planes into World Trade Center, New York 2,993
• 12 Oct 2002 car bombing outside nightclub in Kuta, Indonesia 202
• 26 Oct 2002 hostage taking and attempted rescue in theater in Moscow, Russia 170
• 29 Aug 2003 car bombing outside mosque in Najaf, Iraq 125
• 01 Feb 2004 two suicide bombings of political party offices in Irbil, Iraq 109
• 21 Feb 2004 armed attack and arson at refugee camp, Uganda 239
• 27 Feb 2004 bombing and fire on ferry near Manila, Philippines 118
• 02 Mar 2004 multiple suicide bombings at shrines in Kadhimiya and Karbala, Iraq 188
• 11 Mar 2004 bombings of four trains in Madrid, Spain 191
• 24 Jun 2004 multiple bombings and armed attacks in several cities in Iraq 103
• 03 Sep 2004 hostage taking at school in Beslan, Russia (includes 30 terrorists killed) 366
• 14 Sep 2005 multiple suicide bombings and shooting attacks in Baghdad, Iraq 182
• 28 Feb 2005 car bombing outside medical clinic in Hilla, Iraq 135
• 05 Jan 2006 bombings in Karbala, Ramadi, and Baghdad, Iraq 124
• 11 Jul 2006 multiple bombings on commuter trains in Mumbai, India 200
• 16 Oct 2006 suicide bombing of military convoy near Habarana, Sri Lanka 103
• 23 Nov 2006 multiple car bombings in Baghdad, Iraq 202
• 22 Jan 2007 multiple bombings on marketplaces in Baghdad and Baquba, Iraq 101
• 03 Feb 2007 truck bombing in marketplace in Baghdad, Iraq 137
• 06 Mar 2007 two suicide bombings and additional attacks in Hilla, Iraq 137
• 27 Mar 2007 two truck bombings in Tal Afar, Iraq 152
• 18 April 2007 multiple bombings in Baghdad, Iraq 193
• 4-10 Jul 2007 hostage taking and army storming of mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan 102
• 07 Jul 2007 multiple suicide truck bombings in Armili and area, Iraq 182
• 14 Aug 2007 multiple car bombings in Al-Qataniyah and Al-Adnaniyah, Iraq 520
• 18 Oct 2007 bombing of motorcade in Karachi, Pakistan 140
• 17 Feb 2008 suicide bombing at dog fighting festival, Kandhar, Afghanistan 105
• 26-29 Nov 2008 multiple shooting & grenade attacks & hostage takings in Mumbai, India 174
• Will there ever be a stop to these senseless, barbaric and brutal acts of terrorism?
• The most powerful and mighty must stand up and answer.