MANILA, Philippines — The armed wing of the Communist Party
of the Philippines (CPP), the New People's Army (NPA), is identified in an
international study as the "largest individual group" suspected to be
behind terrorist incidents in the Philippines last year.
The Global Terrorism Index 2014 released Tuesday by
Sydney-based think tank Institute for Economics and Peace noted that
the NPA claimed responsibility for 30 percent of deaths from
terrorist-related incidents in 2013.
"Whilst there were seven known groups that carried out
a terrorist act in 2013, most activity is carried out by the New People's
Army, Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the
Abu Sayyaf Group," it noted.
The CPP-NPA was designated a foreign terrorist
organization by the United States State Department in 2002.
The study, which ranks the Philippines ninth of 162
countries in the terrorism index, identified 499 incidents that caused 292
deaths and 444 injuries the past year.
Incidents counted in the study are those deemed to be of
"an intentional act of violence or threat of violence by a non-state
sector" or sub-national actors aiming to attain political, economic,
religious or social goal.
"Armed assault represented nearly half of all
fatalities, followed by assassinations, which constituted a quarter of all
fatalities," the researchers wrote.
The acts differ from the worldwide terrorist trend of using
explosives.
In the Philippines, 56 percent of assassination attempts
were successful, killing 103 people. The number is "more than five times higher
than 2012."
"The use of these tactics and targets demonstrates that
many of the terrorist groups in the Philippines are seeking to directly change
the political system," the study said.
The Abu Sayyaf, meanwhile, was the only group engaged
in suicide bombing.
Around 34 percent of deaths from terrorist attacks were
believed to be targeting government or troops, while only 10 to 17 percent of
deaths are of business leaders, private citizens and police.
Based on information since the 1960s, terrorist groups
are permanently ended when they either join the political process, become a
state-recognized political party or stopped by policing and intelligence
agencies that break them up.
"Military force in of itself was rarely responsible for
ending terrorist groups," the study said.
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