2 Weeks, 8 Terror Attacks, 247 Victims: How We Learned Their Stories

I absolutely appreciated how this article focused on the actual human faces of these tragic attacks. Often times, many wake up to hear about such tragic events from around the world on the news or on social media, and spend a couple of minutes seeing the brief summary of the victims, which includes a name, age, where they’re from, and they’re occupation. And then, we go back to whatever we were doing, never thinking about the fact that anyone can be put into similar situations. Getting to read “beyond any statistical analysis” and finding out about the “little things” of the survivors of this brutal attack in Iraq made me stop and view my life from another perspective, as I gained insight as to how these survivors were leading very similar lives as me. It especially hit me when I read how Mustafa Maina "listened to BBC Broadcasts about Boko Haram and always prayed that God should crush them...They got him instead.” To hear these exact words really brought this atrocity to a personal level, and helped show me that the “2 weeks, 8 terror attacks, and the 247 victims” aren't just numbers. They illustrate real people who had a real future, and dreams to fulfill. I think that taking the extra step to broadcasting and personifying the victims and survivors and their lives will raise deeper attention to these attacks, and help bring about much needed action in order to prevent these events from happening in the near future, starting with how we view firearms here in the US.

It is not helpful to magnify the problem out of proportion as this article attempts to do. Death as a result of terrorism, while evil and tragicc, is a minor problem for the world when compared to hunger and starvation, disease, state sanctioned warfare, availability of potable water, domestic gun violence, road traffic accidents ... the list goes on. Ehat we need is perspective , not sensationalist, emotive reporting. If you wish to keep doing the terrorists work for them, then continue contributing to the divide which has caused it.

During those same two weeks hand guns likely killed more than 1000 US citizens right here in our own country, as did automobiles (based on a current annual rate of more than 26,000 deaths per year from each source). These deaths are every bit as tragic as the ones documented in this story, and they happen with brutal regularity. Every two weeks another 1000 killed, most of them in the prime of their life. Many of these deaths could have been prevented, especially those due to firearms (for comparison, the comparable rate for Europe, *including terror attacks*, is about five times lower).

I wish the NY Times would devote similar time and energy to humanizing these statistics, and I wonder why are we so obsessed with international terrorism and mass shootings. Is the death of 247 in 8 places any more tragic than the death of 1000 in 1000 places?

I'd love to see the names of everyone killed by handguns each week in the US printed on the front page of the Sunday NY Times every week. Based on current statistics, I'm not sure the list would even fit. But maybe seeing the list of names every week would convince us to do something about the terror that we have somehow convinced ourselves our constitution requires us to endure.

Through the tears, thank you.

It is flat stupid being Wahhabi's and not recognizing that Sunni (not Shia) Muslims and especially those close to Wahhabi version proposed by Saudi Arabia are responsible for most of terrorist attacks in the last 20 years is just plain stupid. Yes, Shia muslims are killed by Sunni terrorists for the sake of purity, naturally with the scores of other believers and atheist. Banning Wahhabi Sunnis (from Saudi Arabia and beyond) from coming to nay Western county can be a very good start. Closing their charities and masks will be next smart step - they are growing next generation of people who would continue killing us.
I do not give a .... about prohibiting a hatful ideology, which teaches kids that infidels (like you and me) have to be beheaded. Recognizing that that believing in very vengeful God is not different from believing in Hitler or Stalin can be a first step of understanding that so called "freedom of religion" is sometimes equal to "freedom of hate-crimes", especially in our US of A with easy access to weapons.

2 Weeks, 8 Terror Attacks, 247 Victims: How We Learned Their Stories

I would first like to thank all 29 people who were transported around the world to find as much information as possible on these 247 lost lives, as well as Jodi Rudoren, who put together this article.

I admire and truly encourage the idea of finding out all the names and basic information on people who are murdered in such violent crimes against humanity. It is extremely important to not only remember these people and what they did on this Earth, but relay the atrocities to others and show them that these aren't just numbers. These are real people with lives to live and those lives served a purpose here. Whether it is to aid one in need, or change others lives for the better. Hopefully the message will be relayed in time to enlighten some lost souls mind and change their plans or actions and stop another massacre from happening.

Thanks for putting a human face on each victim. They are not mere statistics. The biggest heartbreaker are the groups of three young siblings killed all at once. All in the name of religious ideology. This is the NYT at it's best.

Excellent NYT article: the Pope's recent 'the world at war' assertion is proof.

Global Terrorism is directly related to wars. If stopped spontaneously, the propelling factors of terrorists would rapidly recede. Residual terrorism would be easier controlled by civil law enforcement.

A clear-cut formula for worldwide war prevention is available; but being ignored! Reiteration:
- The only root cause of war is now published (page 25, 'Unchecked, They'll Kill Us All'). It's elimination renders all potential wars absolutely preventable;
- Irreversible 21st-C realities -worldwide digital technologies use, social media, 24/7 TV news coverage, easier military secrets hacking, reliable air travel, globalisation, more inter-racial marriages/disparate peoples in same nations/armies, massive migrations, heightened terrorism, etcetera -render 21st-C wars 'un-winnable' anyway: (Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, etc.)
- The 'war prevention' is easily enforceable; needing no armies, but hinged directly onto the personal safeties of nations/recognised-communities main political leaders -the exclusive initiators of ALL wars. They'd then 'conspire' to prevent them;
- The UN (as pre-1945 League of Nations) can never achieve global war prevention. It's always directed by divergent war-instigating national leaders who readily revert true to type; but from their locations of safety!
- A new preventive body/complete measures are suggested in the said book. Why they are yet being ignored is unconscionable.

Just lovely. It is always the person next to you in line at the grocery store who matters. Not the nameless statistic. This article/project is a good service to humankind.

We complain so much about politics, but without politics terrorism is how conflicts of interest are resolved.

But you have to wonder what is going on in the heads of the people who commit these acts (and their admirers) in places where politics ARE possible.

Was it necessary to blow up the airport in Brussels, when one is perfectly free to carry banners in the streets there, to write a letter to the editor, and to vote for representatives who share ones beliefs?

Whatever discrimination Muslims may be suffering in Europe, their resort to terrorism THERE shows how little popular support they know they really have.

Brilliant and heart-rending. Thank you. The photos and the relationships really bring home the pain, as well as the pathetic truth that this is mostly Muslim on Muslim crime. I hope you will continue the project.

As to the exclusion/inclusion of Israelis, a separate study ought to include both Israelis and Palestinians, regardless of whether the deaths are defined as "terrorism" or not. In neither case is jihad or Daesh directly involved or making claims to be.

Finally, a similar study should be done on American shooting victims. I hope your article will spawn many of the same kind.

I'm almost as sick of reading the sob stories as I am reading about the slaughter. So what that innocent, good people, people who contribute to our civilized society are wiped out of existence at any time or place by sub-human, monsters who glorify butchery!
Our government , our political leaders are doing NOTHING about it except to tell us how their “thoughts and prayers are with the victims families”. They run to a photo op and rattle their swords and tell us; “this one is the worst. we will hunt them down”, and of course they sometimes do catch a few these murderers that remained alive, but what about the source of their evil, the core that created and enables this deformed frame of belief that's turning our world into something fearful to walk outside into? We continue to look to our elected officials to eradicate the source, but I'll be damned if it doesn't turn out to be Politically Incorrect to speak such thoughts .
This slaughter of innocent human beings will continue to assure news media their paychecks and retain the cowards who rule civilized nations of the world until those who are most at risk of having their lives demolished forever by celebrating their anniversary at a restaurant or taking their children to a happy event, band together and make our leaders act.
Don't throw away the format of your article, it might come in handy for a special Christmas Issue adding a couple hundred more mothers, sweethearts and children to the roster in a few months.

The general trend of modernism, has been a consistent and constant push back against religious fundamentalism, especially against a style of religion that claims to "know it all," cannot tolerate criticism, and "must control it all".

In a modern society, we are supposed to compartmentalize religion as only one part of larger, freer self identity, so that even if something is against one's religion -- such as gay marriage, abortion, "immodest" female behavior, -- secular laws, tolerance, and modern civility should prevail. We are supposed to have a right to our beliefs but not impose these beliefs on others. What is religious "truth" for me, might not be "truth" for thee.

Modernity is also a sense that any tribalism should be (at least in theory), only a limited part of a greater sense of nationalism and a patriotism where the common good & rights of every citizen, even if different, is valued.

In addition, history has shown (for example from Galileo onwards) that we should re-evaluate & criticize beliefs of any kind when they are flawed, no matter how socially popular or how vehement the push back. We should question the political power of an ideology as well. Reason should prevail, whether one is proven wrong or right.

To reduce the death toll, we should hold fast to these modern values, and promote them.

We should also question our own ideologies of conflict and war -- especially the discredited neoconservative militarism that has so much establishment support.

in the same 2 weeks, there were 1,000+ gun deaths in the US, and most of those were suicides. No need for a terrorist attack in the U.S., we'll handle it ourselves.

Thank you to everyone at the Times that made this possible, from the editor to the stringers in the field. Articles like this are why I subscribe.

Thank you for finally giving time to this story considering the chaotic election going on. I remember the reaction last week when many said Trump's sppech was dark. Speaking as the average American waking up every morning and tuning into these is what make things "dark."

Belief me, I would love to live in ignorance and bliss and think that all is well what it is not. We live in a time that such events affect us quickly regardless of distance.

Frankly, this election, I don't want my ears cuddled with nice words that all is well. That ISIS is not a danger. That we the American middle class are doing so well when we are not. I want the problem to be identified and dealt with. On Monday night over 60 speakers spoke at the DNC, not one mentioned ISIS considering all the tragedies that have occurred the past few weeks. You do not defeat the enemy by ignoring it/them.

If these things can occur so consequentially one after the other 'over there' what makes you think it will not happen here? Do not forget 9/11. Do not forget Orlando. We should not think ourselves so highly as to escape these strategies, if not dealt with quickly, it might be us witnessing these events here on our soil. This has become reality and we cannot ignore it.

Since you do not include Jewish victims of terrorism in Israel, here is one .Vanderbilt graduate student Taylor Force was killed Tuesday March 9, 2016 in a terror attack in Jaffa. He Was a Field Artillery Officer in the United States Army; Serving in Iraq & Afghanistan. In his bio, it says he was a native of Lubbock, Texas, and graduated from the United States Military Academy, with a degree in Engineering Management. Since then, he had worked a Field Artillery officer in the United States Army. When asked what he would like to achieve post-graduation, Force said:

In addition to learning the skills needed to be successful in business, I want to establish life-long connections and friendships with my fellow students from the U.S. and around the globe. Force is the first American to be killed in Israel since Ezra Schwartz was shot dead in the country while delivering food packages to soldiers.

Why no mention of israeli victims of terrorism? Why no articles about American victims like Taylor force who was murdered by a Palestinian? Attacks against Israeli civilians are terror attacks too

Thank you for putting a human face on these victims. I have become interested in the Wests reaction to terrorist deaths. Since 9-11 the U.S. has averaged 15 deaths a year due to Jihadi inspired attacks...yet we have invaded two countries, lost 7,000 soldiers, spent 7 trillion dollars and killed (estimates vary wildly) between 200,000 to 1,000,000 civilians...and it continues. The purpose is to drive the average of 15 per year to 0? I was curious what 247 looked like in these 6 countries compared to other violent deaths. Here is the chart:
Analysis of NYT 7-27-2016 Story on Terrorists Deaths Violent Deaths per 100,000 Population (000,000) Average Annual Violent Deaths Average in a 2 week period
WHO 2014
Belgium 1.48 11.3 167 6
Turkey 3.23 79.6 2,571 99
Iraq 9.84 37.5 3,690 142
Pakistan 6.64 192.8 12,802 492
Nigeria 21.57 186.9 40,314 1,551
Ivory Coast 14.26 23.3 3,323 128
Total 62,867 2,418
% compared to subject two weeks 247
10.2%
Sorry the chart is jumbled....but it works out that these countries average 2,418 violent deaths every two weeks...so 247 terrorists deaths is 10.2% during this one terrible period. Not insignificant. No death is. But proportionality or the lack thereof in our coverage of terrorist attacks first rewards the terrorists so that it inspires continuation and secondly whips up the public and therefore the political class to make stupid policy mistakes...like say a couple of wars.

Jihad, in all its form, is back after a 100 year hiatus. None of these attacks are new or different in motive. It has been going on for 1,400 years. Islamic terror attacks are not going away anytime soon when it is founded in a fascist ideology masquerading as a religion ordering its followers to terrorize, massacre or subjugate those who refuse to accept the teachings of a mass murdering mad man.

The lies repeated by popes, politicians, imams and fools will not change these facts. Rather, they are empowering the insanity and speeding the seemingly inevitable conclusion.

Bad of course. But why do we focus so exclusively on the deaths from terrorism rather than the much much larger number of deaths from other preventable problems? Are the lives of much much larger number of people who die in more conventional ways worth less? Are the much much larger number of deaths from routine crime less important?

It seems to me that this kind of reporting makes ISIS look far more powerful than it really is, feeds their recruiting, and supports the knee jerk reactions of crazies like Donald Trump.

Thank you for honoring these lives.

Thank you for this important body of work to show us the faces that should never be forgotten.

I must, however, comment at my disappointment that the Orlando Pulse Massacre Victims aren't included. That was an act of terror against our LGBTQ community and in our own home front.

I am grateful for the international scope of this article, and for its acknowledgment that Muslims are, overwhelmingly, the victims of terrorist attacks.

I am truly thankful for the New York Times allowing readers to have intel on the terror attacks that have been occurring. Yet reading these tragic stories have broken my heart to know that these people have lost their lives for absolutely no reason and the fact that these attackers have the heart to kill these people makes it even worse. The world is a beautiful atmosphere filled with kind people yet there are terrible people in this world as well. The fact that these kind people have lost their live to terrible people is no excuse that something has to be done to fix the problem.
The article gave the name, age, and hobbies of the victims which really helped the reader grasp what type of person they were and it just shows they were ordinary and kind people. The fact that they were murdered show the absolute violence in this world and how the world can just be so cruel at moments, as loved one's are taken away from us. To all the family of the victims, all that has to me said is that they deserve better than to have their loved one's taken away from them. Especially those who lost their children and their lives were cut to short because they just had a bright future but, because of those cruel attackers it was taken away from them.
The stories of these victims are just so heartfelt and tragic that it is just terrible with the amount of people killed in this attack. It just shows the atrocities that a bad human being can possess to go out and kill people which is wrong.

Thank you for this poignant piece. It shows how much we are alike than different and now for the survivors how grief and mourning will bond them together.

Why are popular Imams not appearing on Western TV telling people to stop killing innocent men, women and children? Where are the protests and marches by muslims calling for peace and rejecting violence & extremism? Surveys show that 30% of young muslims living in the west support jihad and 50% of all muslims living in the west want to follow sharia law. The islamification of the west has to be tackled head-on - socially, politically, morally and legally. For example there are more British muslims fighting for isis than there are in the British army . Why is this? The acceptance of a new Islamicized 'normal' is frightening. The effect on individual human rights is closed for discussion - especially where violence towards women and girls is concerned. If this is not stopped western countries will have large swaths of self-governed medieval Muslim territories. Only truly free debate will sort this out. But any remarks about this in the western media are attacked as inflammatory or alarmist. This has to change. The key thing about islam is that it permits and encourages the idea of supremacy. In particular, supremacy over other human beings. Being 'relaxed' about this is the main problem. It is so much easier to be relaxed about something than to be activated against it. Anything for an easy life. Even death.

Thank you New York Times for finally presenting every life lost to terror, no matter the country of origin, the ethnicity, the race, the orientation, the gender, the religion, as equally important, as equally valuable, as equally precious. It is extremely important to add those people who died trying to escape the terror. The lives and stories of people who died trying to escape war and terror are no less valuable. When will we realize that?

one can only feel wordless, despite these words. such a horror. too painful to read an article such as this, yet the feeling of left undone if not read. added onto this senselessness are the mindless loss of lives in U.S. ...the consequence of reckless humans with guns. One can only hope we don't leave this scourge behind for our children & grand children.

An important article that humanize the victims to your readers. Excellent work.

This is a sad and tragic waste of human life and a testament to the futility and grotesqueness of violence. Yet, sadly, it also functions as an unfortunate piece of Western propaganda, easily dismissed by those who see the political agenda behind it. The reason, of course, is that if the NYT is going to do this for the victims of Islamic terrorism then it also should be doing this for the victims of Western violence. Where is the article detailing the lives of those killed by Western bombs in Afghanistan, or the thousands of innocents killed by the US military when it invaded and occupied Iraq in an illegal and unnecessary war (that is directly responsible for much of the violence that is now happening)? Where is the accounting of the innocent lives lost to drone warfare - a strategy that may spare the lives of Western soldiers but which has killed, by some estimates, more than a 1000 innocent bystanders? Without this additional dimension, the story of what drives and feeds terrorism is incomplete. We are left with easy to digest tales of misfits and fanatics who decide to kill innocent people without having to face the deeper political context that may fuel their actions. At the least, this kind of accounting underlines the willingness to draw a line between "us" and "them" without ever acknowledging the many ways in which "our" violence feeds "theirs."

The very real definition of journalism. Doing whatever is necessary to get the facts. I applaud all of the journalists who were tasked with this very painful and challenging mission. And may they never have to do this again!

I am thankful the victims of the attacks are being named and their lives profiled. There are far more non-western and muslim victims than victims from Europe and the United States. Every death should be reported and if possible personalized so readers can understand the loss and feel empathy for people all over the world and not just feel sorrow for victims who look and act just like you.

Thank you, New York Times, for devoting resources to this research. I think it's so important for people to see the faces of the innocent people who have died in these senseless attacks. It is so sad, but necessary on a human level.

Thank you so much for this. Thank you for your hard work and for honoring the memories of all of these people.

This article is devastating, it leaves me feeling completely helpless, fearing that sometime in the future, near or close, a loved one could be among the victims. What is especially disheartening is the fact that nothing can be done against this form of terrorism. In traffic accidents for example with kids run over by reckless drivers, society can take action, revoke those driver's licences, punish them, put them in jail, take them out of society so they can't kill anymore. But with this form of terrorism - religious fundamentalism, hate against ethnicies, hate against the West, against progress, against everything that makes our civilization move forward and make progress - there is no solution. Trump and anyone who tells us that they can end this with brutal force are total liers. And the terryfying thing is they might not even be aware that they are lying. Trump in his shortsighted dumb worldview might actually believe that military action - "taking them all out" - will stop fundamentalism. The contrary will happen, things will get even worse. Trump will play right into terrorists hand who want nothing more than fuel and prolong this vicious spiral of hate and carnage.

Thanks NYT for doing this as All lives do matter. It makes me a bit sad to read but I think it's important to know who these victims were and the lives they led.

As a father stated "My son was like a candle in the house, this candle was snuffed out, and the happiness of the family is gone".

By reading and looking at the pictures where available, we honor the lives that were taken.

A terrorist does not discriminate.

As always, am in awe of the NYTimes' resources, technical capacity, passion, and humanity. I'm quite sure none of us would understand the world as well as we do in a personal or global level without your daily efforts to produce this journalism day in and day out, even in the face of almost unimaginable horror. Thank you.

Illuminating the work that goes into this kind of reporting makes me respect this paper even more.

Thank you for this well researched article. It is important to know how many of the victims are from many cultures and religions, not only from the Western nations. All lives matter.

2 weeks with 8 attacks?? When and where I asked myself.

The attack in Brussels received far more coverage in the Western news media than the other combined, despite the far greater toll in human life.

An *ALL lives matter* movement is long overdue.

NYT has a great companion article, that delves, kinda, into the psychosis behind these killings. The one common thread is the fact that they (perpetrators) all appeared to have in common is, researching mass killings.

The propensity for violence (whether against ones self, or others) is not necessarily a trait, that, by itself will lead to these kinds of killings. However, couple that propensity with the over saturation of these carnage, now you have just radicalize, as such, weaponized these individuals.

The media serve a purpose, but they also bear a responsibly to ensure that they are not doing more harm than good. It's a tough balance, and unless the producers are very experienced, they are condemned to make the error in judgement, over and over again.

I, like most other rational individuals, know when I've had enough. I find myself unconsciously turning off the news and watching cartoons instead. Escape? Maybe! A necessity? Most definitely.

This summer is very bloody and terrorizing. A constant stream of attacks on innocent human beings. We(peaceful people) are not able to cope this hatred from these terrorists. They violate every rule in the book.
Its very well written article, and the intent to discover what we lose in these terror plots is very important. World seems to move on after every attack and don't care about the basic issue.

A stunning feat of journalism that brings tears to my eyes. On behalf of the victims, their families and of all humanity, thank you New York Times.

Thanks for informing your readers about the length you go deep behind the headlines of terror attacks to get the picture of the human tragedy involved. However, as a reader I find that you lack in one aspect. You are not covering the mastermind behind this wave of terror attacks. It is assumed by one and all, especially in Western media, that ISIS or Alquida or one of the extremist cultists are behind these worldwide carnival of blood-shedding. But there is strong possibility that agencies in the West themselves are behind such terror attacks. You may treat it as conspiracy theory. But there is no harm in putting the other side under your lens. Your readers are aware of the constraints that you work within. But to that much, then leaves your efforts lacking in full justice to know and spread the truth in whatever packages it is given to you. You may leave the final judgement to your readers. This is in no way dimishes the value of your journalistic excellence in bringing facts as far as possible to the general public at large. Especially as it is the hallmark of New York Times since its inception.

Somehow the Times missed the attack in Normandy and the murder of a Catholic Priest. Is the DNC determining all the news fit to print