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Terrorist Attacks in the Middle East: A Counter-Terrorism Medicine Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2022

Derrick Tin Open the ORCID record for Derrick Tin [Opens in a new window] ,
Saleh Fares ,
Mobarak Al Mulhim  and
Gregory R. Ciottone
Derrick Tin*
Affiliation:
Senior Fellow, BIDMC Disaster Medicine Fellowship, Department of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MassachusettsUSA
Saleh Fares
Affiliation:
Founder and President, Emirates Society of Emergency Medicine, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Mobarak Al Mulhim
Affiliation:
Associate Director and Faculty, Executive Health and Dignitary Medicine - Disaster Medicine Fellowship, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Chief Officer, Clinical Shared Services, Easter Health Cluster, Saudi Arabia
Gregory R. Ciottone
Affiliation:
Director, BIDMC Disaster Medicine Fellowship, Department of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MassachusettsUSA
*
Correspondence: Derrick Tin, MBBS Senior Fellow, BIDMC Disaster Medicine Fellowship Department of Emergency Medicine Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Harvard Medical School Cambridge, MassachusettsUSA E-mail: dtin@bidmc.harvard.edu
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Abstract

Background:

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been, like many parts of the world, a hotbed for terrorist activities. Terrorist attacks can affect both demand for and provision of health care services and often places a unique burden on first responders, hospitals, and health systems. This study aims to provide an epidemiological description of all terrorism-related attacks in the Middle East sustained from 1970-2019.

Methods:

Data collection was performed using a retrospective database search through the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). The GTD was searched using the internal database search functions for all events which occurred in Iraq, Yemen, Turkey, Egypt, Syria, West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, North Yemen, Qatar, and South Yemen from January 1, 1970 - December 31, 2019. Primary weapon type, primary target type, country where the incident occurred, and number of deaths and injuries were collated and the results analyzed.

Results:

A total of 41,837 attacks occurred in the Middle East from 1970-2019 accounting for 24.9% of all terrorist attacks around the world. A total of 100,446 deaths were recorded with 187,447 non-fatal injuries. Fifty-six percent of all attacks in the region occurred in Iraq (23,426), 9.4% in Yemen (3,929), and 8.2% in Turkey (3,428). “Private Citizens and Properties” were targeted in 37.6% (15,735) of attacks, 15.4% (6,423) targeted “Police,” 9.6% targeted “Businesses” (4,012), and 9.6% targeted “Governments” (4,001). Explosives were used in 68.4% of attacks (28,607), followed by firearms in 20.4% of attacks (8,525).

Conclusion:

Despite a decline in terrorist attacks from a peak in 2014, terrorist events remain an important cause of death and injuries around the world, particularly in the Middle East where 24.9% of historic attacks took place. While MENA countries are often clustered together by economic and academic organizations based on geographical, political, and cultural similarities, there are significant differences in terrorist events between countries within the region. This is likely a reflection of the complexities of the intricate interplay between politics, culture, security, and intelligence services unique to each country.

Keywords

counter-terrorism medicinedisaster medicineEMSprehospital medicineterrorism
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , April 2022 , pp. 212 - 216
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine

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