The number of terrorist attacks documented by US authorities jumped sharply in 2005, crossing the 10,000 mark for the first time, US media reported Friday.

In comparison, authorities reported 3,192 terrorist attacks in 2004.

US officials cautioned that much of the increase, due to be reported publicly by the State Department next week, stems from a change of the definition of terror attacks, coupled with a more aggressive effort to tally such violence worldwide.

Last year, the United States adopted a new, broader definition of terrorism, which includes all "premeditated violence directed against noncombatants for political purposes."

The previous definition focused on international terrorism and required that the terrorists victimize at least one citizen of another country.

Meanwhile, nongovernmental organizations, the news media, Web sites and other sources have increased their efforts to find and document terror attacks.

Nevertheless, US officials acknowledged that some of the rise in terror incidents could be traced to the war in Iraq, where foreign terrorists, a homegrown insurgency and sectarian strife have all contributed to political bloodshed.

Over half of the fatalities from terrorism worldwide last year occurred in Iraq, and roughly 85 percent of the US citizens who died from terrorism during the year died in Iraq.

The figures cover only noncombatants and thus do not include combat deaths of US or Iraqi soldiers.

US State Department's counter terrorism coordinator Henry Crumpton told Congress earlier this month that although the leadership of al-Qaida may be isolated and unable to communicate effectively, regional terrorist groups have established networks of their own, a development that, in a way, poses even more daunting strategic policy challenges.

Meanwhile, he said the terrorists have found themselves a new haven: cyberspace, which they are using for recruitment, propaganda and even training.

(Xinhua News Agency April 22, 2006)