Beyond Brussels — The Toll Of Terrorism Worldwide

Once again, the world is mourning dozens killed in an apparent terror attack in the heart of Europe. The trio of explosions in Brussels — two at the airport and one at a metro station — came just four months after 130 people were killed in a series of coordinated attacks across Paris. More than 30 people are believed to be dead following Tuesday's violence. While incidents like the ones in Brussels and Paris "reveal that Europe is vulnerable to deadly terrorist attacks," terrorism in the continent overall remains lower than in the 1970s and 1980s, according to Erik Cleven, PhD, an assistant professor of politics at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. And sadly, the tragedy in Brussels is far from the only case in which dozens have died from suspected terror attacks in recent weeks. As Cleven notes in a statement released by the college, "The vast majority of attacks today, and fatalities resulting from terrorist attacks, are still experienced in five countries, namely Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, and Nigeria." While they are often just as, if not more, deadly than the assaults in Brussels, these attacks across the Middle East and Africa don't always garner the same level of media coverage and international response. Some people online have pointed out that gap in attention, calling on the world to remember all victims of terrorism in the wake of the Brussels attack.

Just last week, gunmen affiliated with al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb opened fire on a beach in the Ivory Coast, killing 14 civilians and two soldiers. A series of bombings in Turkey, including a suicide car bombing in a busy section of Istanbul on Saturday, has left dozens dead and injured in recent weeks.

And though the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for Brussels, Paris, and many of the terror attacks that dominate the headlines, it wasn't the world's most deadly organization in recent years. Boko Haram, a Nigeria-based Islamic extremist group, caused more than 6,000 deaths in 2014, according to the 2015 Global Terrorism Index. Its most recent attack came just last week, when two female suicide bombers blew themselves up outside of a mosque near Nigeria's capital, killing 22 people and injuring dozens more.