Ambulances Under Fire: A Cross-sectional Analysis of Terrorist Attacks on Ambulances and Their Medical Implications.

Objective: This study aims to conduct an epidemiological analysis of the country, race, weapon type, and type of attack, along with the medical consequences of terrorist attacks on ambulances. Methods: The population of this retrospective cross-sectional epidemiological study consisted of terrorist attacks on ambulances, as documented in the Global Terrorism Database provided by The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, covering the period from 1970 to July 2021. Incidents, deaths, and injuries from these terrorist attacks were analyzed according to country, attack type, and weapon type. Additionally, incidents, deaths, injuries, and material losses from attacks against ambulances were analyzed by year. Results: In the last 52 years, 80 terrorist incidents occurred, and 444 people were adversely affected medically in 75 of these incidents. In 96.3% of these cases, the terrorist organization achieved its desired goal, and 71.3% resulted in material loss. During this period, terrorist attacks on ambulances were reported in 27 countries. In 17 of these incidents, the nationality of the attacker was different from that of the target person, and 70 people were adversely affected medically. These incidents featured seven different types of attacks and five different types of weapons. The most preferred type of attack was bombing (n=38), while the most commonly used weapon type was explosives (n=39). Conclusion: In the last six years, there has been an increase in terrorist attacks, adversely affecting many people medically. The main reasons for this increase include growing civil unrest in countries, easy access to ambulances, perceived lack of threat, and a rise in individual armament. Due to these issues, it is crucial to train health workers, take precautions, make preparations, and create emergency action plans to mitigate terrorist attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]