Terrorist attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan have risen sharply as extremists have consolidated and expanded operations, according to the government and independent analysts.
On Thursday, the State Department”s annual assessment of worldwide terrorism is expected to show that terrorist attacks in Pakistan alone more than quadrupled between 2006 and 2008, according to a U.S. official briefed on its findings. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Congress is still being notified of the findings.
Last year”s “Country Reports on Terrorism” from the State Department found that attacks in Pakistan had more than doubled from 375 to 887 between 2006 and 2007, and the number of fatalities jumped by almost 300 percent from 335 to 1,335.
Terror attacks also were up in Afghanistan, according to the new report. Last year”s State terrorism report found the number of attacks rose 16 percent in Afghanistan, to 1,127 incidents in 2007, killing 1,966 people, 56 percent more than the 1,257 who died in 2006.
The American Security Project reported separately Wednesday that there is “no good news” from either Pakistan or Afghanistan.
“Governmental weakness in both states has created opportunities for radical Islamist groups on both sides of the border,” the independent analysts concluded.
