A comparison of global suicide terrorism by region before and after 9/11 terrorist attacks

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on suicide terrorism in different regions of the world and changes in the trends in suicide terrorism according to regions before and after 9/11. Design/methodology/approach Using the data obtained from the Global Terrorism Database from 1981 to 2019, the descriptive statistics were computed first and then, independent samples t-tests were run to compare the monthly mean percentage of suicide-terrorism incidents that occurred in each region between the pre-9/11 and the post-9/11 periods. Finally, to statistically assess the effect of the 9/11 attacks and changes in the trends for the dependent variables over time, monthly interrupted time-series analyzes were conducted. Findings The results of monthly interrupted time series analyzes showed that after the 9/11 attacks, the trends for suicide-terrorism rates decreased significantly in three regions including South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa and Europe, while the trend for suicide-terrorism rates increased significantly in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, no statistically significant changes in the trends in suicide-terrorism rates occurred in three regions including North America, East Asia and Central Asia and Southeast Asia before 9/11, during November 2001 or after 9/11. Originality/value This study indicates the critical importance of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in suicide terrorism and its impact on these events in different regions of the world. The research also provides some recommendations concerning the effectiveness of defensive and offensive counterterrorism policies against suicide terrorism.

EFFECTS OF SUICIDE BOMBING ON MENTAL HEALTH IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN

Pakistan passed through a very critical situation due to terrorism. The most lethal attempts were suicide bombings, which jolted Pakistani society, and the population faced severe mental health issues. This paper attempts to find out the psychological effects of suicide terrorism in Karachi. The present study has been conducted in Karachi city. This is an exploratory study in nature. The target population comprised of victims who had been directly affected by suicide terrorism in Karachi from 2008 to 2014. The study has a sample size of 118 and data was collected through a well-structured questionnaire by using the snowball sampling technique. A quantitative research design has been used to examine the psychological impact of suicide terrorism in Karachi. One hundred and eighteen respondents were included in the present study. A majority of them were male with monthly household income between 31,000-40,000 PKR, showing that most of the victims belonged to the lower-middle-class of society. The overwhelming number of the respondents having individual demised or injured in the suicide bombing were the household earners consequently resulting in emotional and financial crises. Most of the respondents (48.30%) reported that they or their family member’s experienced severe depression followed by mood swings. Most of the victims of suicide bombing are missing their household earners or the head of the family. As a result, they suffered from mental disturbance. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was high after the incident among the victims and their families. Keywords: Suicide bombing; Psychological impacts; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Victims, Karachi

Boko Haram's Feminization, Minorization, and Cyberization of Terrorism

This chapter employs cybertechnology approaches to address issues related to the continuing Boko Haram insurgency in North-East Nigeria supported by cybertechnology, especially the group's deployment of girls and boys to perpetrate suicide attacks. The mass abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls in 2014 at Chibok Community in the North-Eastern Nigerian state of Borno is widely believed as the group's first ever gendered terrorism activity, which could only be successful if cybertechnology was used to coordinate the activity. That incident raised the group's global notoriety. The aftermaths of that sad incident rather emboldened the terrorists and made them appreciate the global social and political values of girls as potent tools for suicide terrorism. Recommendations for theoretical approach and policy guidelines toward ending terrorism were discussed at the end.