Thailand 8th on global terrorism list

Thailand has been ranked eighth in a global list of countries where terrorism has had the most impact in the past decade.

A total 158 countries were ranked in the Global Terrorism Index 2011 (GTI) issued by the US  Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).

The index takes into account the number of terrorist incidents, fatalities, injuries and damage.

According to the IEP, there were at least 173 violent incidents in Thailand's three southernmost border provinces in 2011 that could be documented as terrorism, leaving 142 dead and 427 injured.

Over the decade, the unrest reached a pinnacle in 2009, particularly in Narathiwat's Cho Airong district, the IEP report said. 

No insurgent groups had claimed responsibility for more than 85% of the total attacks, and that prevented the government from beginning peace talks, it said. 

In Southeast Asia, Thailand ranks No.1 on the list, followed by the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia and Cambodia. Laos have not experienced terrorism over the past decade, according to the report.

According to the index, Iraq sits at the top, followed by Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Yemen. Terrorist  attacks worldwide have quadrupled in the past 10 years, according to the report.