Terror Attacks!!!!

Among countries, Iran remains the biggest supporter of terrorism, with elements of its government backing groups throughout the middle east protably in Iraq, giving material aid and guidance to Shiite insurgent groups that have attacked Sunnis, U.S. and Iraqi forces, it said.
In its annual global survey of terrorism, the department said 14,338 attacks took place in 2006, mainly in Iraq and Afghanistan, 3,185 more than in 2005 representing a 28.5 percent increase.
These strikes claimed a total of 20,498 lives, 13,340 of them in Iraq, 5,800 more, or a 40.2 percent increase, than last year, it said.
Despite the grim figures, State Department officials pointed to some successes in the war on terror, including improved counterterrorism cooperation with various nations and the thwarting of numerous plots notably plans to down trans-Atlantic airliners.
"Serious challenges do remain, there's no question about that," said acting counterterrorism coordinatorfrank uranbcic . "This is not the kind of war where you can measure success with conventional numbers. We cannot aspire to a single decisive battle that will break the enemy's back, nor can we hope for a signed peace accord to mark victory."
In Iraq, the use of chemical weapons, seen for the first time in a Nov. 23, 2006, attack in sadr city also "signaled a dangerous strategic shift in tactics," it said.
With the rise in fatalities, the number of injuries from terrorist attacks also rose, by 54 percent, between 2005 and 2006, and the number of wounded doubled in Iraq over the period, according to the department'scountry reports on Terrorism 2006.
The numbers were compiled by the national counterterrorism and refer to deaths and injuries sustained by "noncombatants," with significant increases in attacks targeting children, educators and journalists.
Terrorist attacks worldwide shot up more than 25 percent last year, killing 40 percent more people than in 2005, particularly in Iraq where extremists used chemical weapons and suicide bombers to target crowds, the State Department said Monday.
Among countries, Iran remains the biggest supporter of terrorism, with elements of its government backing groups throughout the Middle East, notably in Iraq, giving material aid and guidance to Shiite insurgent groups that have attacked Sunnis, U.S. and Iraqi forces, it said.
In its annual global survey of terrorism, the department said 14,338 attacks took place in 2006, mainly in Iraq and Afghanistan, 3,185 more than in 2005 representing a 28.5 percent increase.
These strikes claimed a total of 20,498 lives, 13,340 of them in Iraq, 5,800 more, or a 40.2 percent increase, than last year, it said.
Despite the grim figures, State Department officials pointed to some successes in the war on terror, including improved counterterrorism cooperation with various nations and the thwarting of numerous plots notably plans to down trans-Atlantic airliners.
"Serious challenges do remain, there's no question about that," said acting counterterrorism coordinator Frank Urbancic. "This is not the kind of war where you can measure success with conventional numbers. We cannot aspire to a single decisive battle that will break the enemy's back, nor can we hope for a signed peace accord to mark victory."
In Iraq, the use of chemical weapons, seen for the first time in a Nov. 23, 2006, attack in Sadr City, also "signaled a dangerous strategic shift in tactics," it said.
With the rise in fatalities, the number of injuries from terrorist attacks also rose, by 54 percent, between 2005 and 2006, and the number of wounded doubled in Iraq over the period, according to the department's Country Reports on Terrorism 2006.
The numbers were compiled by the National Counterterrorism Center and refer to deaths and injuries sustained by "noncombatants," with significant increases in attacks targeting children, educators and journalists.
"By far the largest number of reported terrorist incidents occurred in the Near East and South Asia," said the 335-page report, referring to the regions where Iraq and Afghanistan are located.
"These two regions also were the locations for 90 percent of all the 290 high-casualty attacks that killed 10 or more people," it said.