A Spike In The Global Terrorism Index

Nearly 10,000 terrorist attacks killed almost 18,000 people last year — so says new research.

FOX News Radio’s Simon Owen reports from London.

A record 17,958 people were killed in terrorist attacks in 2013, according to a research group. That’s up 61 percent on the same group’s count for the previous year.

The Institute for Economics and Peace saying four groups dominated the attacks — ISIS in Iraq and Syria; al Qaeda, the Taliban and Nigeria’s Boko Haram.

Those four blamed for two-thirds of all fatalities.

Over 80 percent of the deaths were in just five countries: Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria.

In London, Simon Owen, FOX News Radio.