A year of terror -- 2016 marred by tragedy

Month-by-month, and in many cases, day-by-day the number of terror attacks across the world increased in 2016. First it was Brussels, then it was Orlando, soon after that it was Nice and this December it was Berlin. Unfortunately those are just some of the tragedies that made headlines this year. Terror groups including ISIS, Al-Shabab, Boko Haram and al-Qaeda have left behind trails of destruction worldwide.

The United States saw its deadliest mass shooting in history when a man opened fired inside Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida in June. Forty-nine people were killed and dozens more were injured in the rampage at the gay nightclub. President Obama called the attack 'an act of terror and an act of hate,' and the suspect, Omar Mateen, pledged allegiance to ISIS.

A month later, a truck was driven into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, France -- killing at least 85 people, including ten children. Investigators say hundreds of others were also injured in the attack when the suspect, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhel, ploughed the 20-ton truck into the crowd. He was later shot and killed by police. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, calling the suspect one of their 'soldiers'.

In September, an explosion in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan was linked to a man who the FBI says praised al-Qaeda. The blast in New York injured 30 people and the suspect, Ahmad Khan Rahami, was also charged with detonating a pipe bomb in New Jersey.

Earlier in the year, tragedy struck Belgium when a series of explosives were detonated at Brussels Airport and on the Brussels subway. The attacks in March -- carried out by suicide bombers killed at least 32 people and injured more than 300 others. Investigators have linked the suspects to the same terror cell reportedly involved in the 2015 attacks in Paris.

And in December there was an attack in Berlin that was tragically similar to the one in Nice. A truck rampage at a Christmas market left 12 dead and more than 50 injured. The suspect, Anis Amri, was killed in a shootout with police in Italy and video emerged of him pledging his allegiance to the Islamic State.

By: Lindsay Keeler