Terrorist attacks and deaths hit-record high in 2012: Report

Terrorist attacks and fatalities soared to a record high in 2012, according to a new report.

The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism found that more than 8,500 terrorist attacks killed nearly 15,500 people last year as violence tore through Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

According to CNN, that is a 69 percent rise in attacks and an 89 percent jump in fatalities from 2011, START, one of the world's leading terrorism-trackers, said.

START said that six of the seven most deadly groups are affiliated with al Qaeda, and most of the violence was committed in Muslim-majority countries.

Gary LaFree, START's director, said that this year (2013) is expected to outpace even 2012's record high, adding that there were 5,100 attacks in the first six months of 2013.

In recent weeks, Al-Shabaab, a militant group based in Somalia, attacked a mall in Nairobi, Kenya, leaving 67 dead; suicide bombers killed 81 at a church in Pakistan; and the Taliban took credit for killing two police officers with a car bomb in Afghanistan.