There were 3,213 cases of terrorist and guerrilla attacks worldwide in 2003, and the death toll totaled 7,476, Japan's Public Security Investigation Agency released Thursday.

The number of such incidents marked a record high since 1991, when the agency started to conduct a related survey, but the number of victims was about the half that of the peak in 1998.

By region, the Asia and Oceania regions topped the list with 1,478 incidents, followed by the Middle East with 801 and areas covering the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe with 295, according to the survey.

There were a total of 251 such incidents in North, Central and South America, while there were 196 in Africa and 192 in Western Europe.

The survey figures the two Japanese diplomats shot in Iraq last November. The two were killed when their vehicle was attacked nearthe northern Iraqi city of Tikrit en route to a reconstruction conference. Their Iraqi driver was also killed.

The results of the survey will be compiled into a book which will not be put on sale but will be distributed to organizations and groups concerned.

Source: Xinhua