New Delhi (Sputnik) — Not only that, the report calls Maoist guerrillas (popularly known as Naxals) as the third most deadly terror organization in the world after Daesh and Taliban.
More than half of these 927 terror attacks occurred in the four states of Jammu and Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Manipur and Jharkhand.
In particular, Jammu and Kashmir saw a 93 percent jump in terror attacks, according to US State Department data. India’s home ministry records acknowledge the rise but put it at a much lower 54 percent.
Compared to India, Pakistan registered a 27 percent decline in the number of terror attacks from 1,010 in 2015 to 734 in 2016.
On Naxals, the Maoist insurgents have been accused of conducting 336 terror attacks in 2016, causing 174 deaths and injuring 141.
Experts said there has been a marked increase in terror incidents, both from domestic and home-grown sources.
“There has been an increase in the number of terror incidents, both committed by Pakistan-backed terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir as well as Naxals in Chhattisgarh. On the Naxal front, the first half of the year has been full of frequent attacks with significant casualties for security forces. April alone saw a large ambush on security forces by Naxals in Chhattisgarh. But Naxals are in retreat and have suffered more damages due to sustained combing operations. In Jammu and Kashmir, the situation has flared due to Pakistan’s financial and material support to disgruntled extremist youth,” P.K. Mishra, Senior Fellow, at the New Delhi-based Vivekananda International Foundation and former Additional Director General, Border Security Force and Left Wing Extremism, told Sputnik.