The University of Maryland recently opened its Global Terrorism Database to the public, which had been available only to researchers and government officials. This isn't some little database thrown together by a few researchers in a dusty computer lab. The database is huge and is billed as the "most comprehensive unclassified database on terrorist events in the world."
It's hard to argue with that assessment if you view the database, which contains details on almost 80,000 domestic and international terrorist incidents stretching back to 1970, including more than 27,000 bombings, 13,000 assassinations, and 2,800 kidnappings. If you weren't afraid of traveling abroad, you might be now, depending on your country of choice. There are search features for terrorist attacks by date, country, type of weapon used, target, known perpetrator, and number of casualties.
The University of Maryland collected and organized information for the database from 1970 to 1997. It then partnered with the Department of Homeland Security for additional funding for a new section from 1998 to 2004, which included the review of more than 2 million news articles and various government reports. Over the next year, the site will be updated with details about terrorist attacks from 2005 to 2007.
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