The Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) declared four groups -- the Islamic State, Taliban, Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram -- as the most dangerous terror outfits in the world in 2017 as attacks carried out by the quartet had claimed the lives of more than half of the total terror victims worldwide.
According to a data analysis by esri.com, this pattern remains unchanged in 2018 as the "Big Four" killed 4,625 people while a total of 8,439 people were killed in terror strikes. This is slightly higher than the 7,717 lives lost to terrorism last year.
The website identifies 1,461 terror attacks worldwide between January 1, 2018, and December 24, 2018. The IS alone plotted 411 of these attacks, killing 2,809 people.
Religious minorities and security forces remain the prime targets for extremists worldwide. Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia and Syria recorded the most number of attacks in 2017 and the scenario remains unchanged in 2018.