India and Thailand are the Asian jurisdictions most likely to suffer terrorist attacks – including those involving mass casualties – a new terror ism risk index claims, with Australia coming in at 120 out of 196 countries rated.

India was rated sixth in the latest risk index released by London-based Maplecroft, behind Iraq – considered the highest terrorism risk – as well as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Lebanon.

Thailand was rated the ninth most risky country, behind Algeria at seventh and Co lumbia at eighth, with Asian neighbour the Philippines rounding out the top 10. Thailand has risen from 11th in last year’s rankings as a result of incidents in the nation’s Muslim south, including an October 2009 bomb attack in Sungai Kolok.

Although the terrorist situation in Iraq has im proved, Maplecroft says the frequency, scale and human impact of attacks still makes it the most extreme risk country for terrorism, with nearly 4500 civilians killed in 2009.

Maplecroft political risk analyst Eva Molyneux said that ratings account for small er terrorist incidents as well as mass-casualty attacks, as both can potentially disrupt opera tions and supply chains.

Medium-risk countries include the UK (41), China (43), the US (46) and France (56), while Aus tralia is considered low risk, alongside the likes of Germany (81) and Canada (116).