Relatives of victims attend a commemorative event on the first anniversary of the Brussels terrorist attacks at Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium, March 22, 2017. On the same day in 2016 a total of 31 people were killed and hundreds of others injured in terrorist attacks on the Brussel Airport and the Maalbeek Metro station for which the Islamic State (IS) later had claimed responsibility. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)

Africa has become the main target of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group by suffering 41 percent of all its attacks worldwide, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita told a ministerial conference of the Global Coalition against the IS on Wednesday.

The number of terrorist attacks in Africa surged compared to the pre-pandemic period, with an average of 40 percent to 60 percent rise in terms of fatalities and attacks, he said in a statement.

"Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 48 percent of global terrorism deaths - with 3,461 casualties, bringing the death toll to 30,000 people during the last 15 years," said Bourita, adding 27 terrorist entities based in Africa are registered on the UN Security Council sanction list.

Sahel has become home to the world's fastest growing and deadliest terrorist groups, accounting for 35 percent of global terrorism deaths in 2021, compared with just 1 percent in 2007, according to Bourita.

"African economy lost during the last years more than 171 billion US dollars because of the terror threat which now reached the Atlantic coasts and its shipping routes," he noted.

According to Morocco's national radio, the ministerial conference was attended by more than 40 ministers, including 38 foreign ministers, who discussed regional security and stability, international cooperation, and measures to cut the financial support of terrorism. 

Xinhua