U.S. says terrorist violence soared in Pakistan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Thursday the number of people killed in terrorist attacks in Pakistan last year rose by more than 70 percent despite an overall drop in such violence worldwide.

U.S. officials have grown increasingly worried about the stability of nuclear-armed Pakistan as Taliban militants have advanced beyond their Swat valley stronghold to Buner valley, just 60 miles (100 km) northwest of the capital, Islamabad.

The Pakistani army on Thursday fought through mountain passes for a third day to try to evict the Taliban from Buner, acting after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week accused the government of abdicating to the Taliban.

Data compiled by the U.S. intelligence community suggested that Pakistan faces a growing threat from terrorist violence.

The number of people killed in such attacks -- including the September 20 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad -- rose to 2,293 from 1,340, according to the data released by the State Department.

The number of terrorist attacks in Pakistan more than doubled to 1,839 from 890, U.S. officials told reporters.

IRAQ VIOLENCE EBBED

These increases occurred even as the death toll from worldwide terrorism fell to 15,765 from 22,508 in 2007 and the number of overall attacks dropped to 11,770 from 14,506, they said.

The decline reflected diminished violence in Iraq following U.S. President George W. Bush's 2007 decision to send additional troops to the country, which U.S.-led forces invaded in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein.