The number of people killed from attacks against transportation nearly doubled from 1997. The 1,683 people killed and 2,200 wounded stand as evidence of the increasingly violent nature of attacks on transportation. Nearly every attack on trains, buses, and public transit caused multiple casualties. Buses, while not the most frequently attacked mode, incurred the greatest casualties. Attacks on highways-armed attacks outnumbered bombings 3:1-nearly always produced fatalities. While the victims of these attacks frequently were targets of opportunity, the timing of these attacks appeared far less random than the more frequent bombings that occurred in the other modes. In the maritime arena, fatalities during piracy incidents increased 120 percent from a year ago. We believe that the number of people killed and injured is perhaps equally as significant as the total number of attacks against transportation. The increased number of people killed and injured in violent attacks against transportation, and the rising number of incidents, are disturbing trends. Growing casualties are, in part, the result of attacks on "softer" targets where more people are exposed, and the use of weaponry that is intended to cause mass casualties. See Appendix A, Chart 4.
