Terrorist attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan surged over the last year, a reflection of strengthened extremist organizations in both countries, according to an annual State Department report issued Thursday.
While the number of terror attacks worldwide — and in Iraq — went down over the past year, the number of incidents more than quadrupled in Pakistan between 2006 and 2008, and the number of people killed in attacks jumped by 70 percent.
The attacks also reflected better coordination, sophistication and frequency, officials said. And in Afghanistan, attacks mainly attributed to a renewed Taliban insurgency killed nearly 2,000 civilians, up from the previous year.
The report said the attacks in both countries could be attributed to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, a notoriously porous area used by militants. The fighters have "used this terrain as a safe haven to hide, train terrorists, communicate with the followers, plot attacks and send fighters to support the insurgency in Afghanistan."
The Obama administration has focused on Pakistan and Afghanistan in recent months, linking the two in a revamped Afghan war strategy. The largest number of attacks in Pakistan occurred near the border, despite the presence of nearly 100,000 Pakistani troops in the area.
Pakistani officials also have been criticized for making deals with Islamic extremists, allowing them to implement harsh Islamic law in exchange for promises to stop fighting.
In Afghanistan, "Taliban information operations were increasingly aggressive and sophisticated. Steams of Taliban financing from across the border in Pakistan, along with funds gained from narcotics trafficking, have allowed the insurgency to strengthen its military and technical capabilities," the report reads.
In Iraq, there was a "notable reduction" in terror attacks, down by almost half from 2007. However, the number of attacks themselves are still high: in 2008, there were 3,258 terror "incidents," according to the report. In 2007, there were 6,210.
The report also alleged that Iran continued to be the world’s most prolific state sponsor of terrorism, accusing it of arming not just militias in Iraq, but also the Taliban.
"Since at least 2005, Iran has arranged arms shipments including small arms and associated ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades, mortar rounds, 107 mm rockets and plastic explosives to select Taliban members," the report alleged.
