World

　　A total of 3,213 terrorist incidents and guerrilla attacks last year claimed 7,476 lives worldwide, according a Japanese government study published in newspapers yesterday. The number of attacks rose 17.5 percent from the previous year and marked a record high since the Public Security Investigation Agency started compiling data in 1991, according to the Yomiuri, Japan's largest newspaper.

　　The report blamed chaos in Iraq and the spread of terrorist attacks by Muslim extremists for the increase, the Yomiuri said. The agency was closed yesterday for a national holiday, and officials could not be reached for comment.