Terrorism — led by radical Islamic groups such as the Islamic State, al Qaeda, the Taliban, Boko Haram and others — is on the rise, with annual terrorism-related deaths up nearly tenfold since 2000. In recent months the United States and its allies in Iraq and Syria, aided by a small but growing number of U.S. Special Operations Forces, have made military gains against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS. Keeping nuclear materials away from terrorists also is an international priority, with 50 nations agreeing in April to improve nuclear security. In the United States, a shooter who killed 49 people in an Orlando, Fla., nightclub on June 12 pledged allegiance to ISIS, but authorities have found no evidence that a foreign terror group was involved in the attack.
 Mourners gather at the Brussels Stock Exchange Square in Belgium to commemorate victims of mass terrorist attacks in March. (Getty Images/Anadolu Agency/Dursun Aydemir) |
On March 22, Islamic State supporters killed 32 people in coordinated attacks in Brussels, drawing international condemnation and nonstop media coverage across the Western world. 1 Terrorists pulled off three other deadly assaults that same week, although they garnered less international attention:
Three days earlier, an ISIS-affiliated suicide bomber had killed four and wounded 36 in Istanbul. 2
