Violence Against Christians Moves Nigeria to No. 7 on List of Terror-Affected Nations

Boko Haram's violent jihad against Christians in Nigeria pushed the country into seventh place in annual rankings of countries impacted by terrorism, fueling more calls for the State Department to reconsider its decision not to designate the Islamist group as a foreign terrorist organization, CNSNews.com reports.

Nigeria's ranking in the latest Global Terrorism Index, released this week, marked a shift from 12th place a year ago, from 16th place in 2008 and from 30th place in 2005. The top six countries this year are Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Yemen and Somalia. Produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace, the index is calculated based on the number of terrorist incidents, the number of deaths, the number of casualties and the level of property damage. 

The newly-published rankings relate to 2011, a year during which 168 terror attacks were recorded in Nigeria, accounting for 437 deaths and 614 injuries. This year, however, has already witnessed more than 700 Nigerian Christian deaths in Boko Haram-related violence, according to the Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans (CANAN), and the coming Christmas holiday could bring more, if past years are a guide.