A new report from Simon Fraser University in B.C. concludes there has been a sharp decline in the incidence of terrorist violence around the world, challenging assumptions that the global threat has been increasing.

The Human Security Brief 2007 says fatalities from terrorism have decreased by some 40 per cent in recent months. It also concludes the terrorist network associated with al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden has suffered a dramatic collapse in popular support in the Muslim world.

The report concludes that several USA based "terror research centers" distort the global terrorism trend by counting civilian deaths in civil wars, giving an overly stated global threat picture.

More from the CBC, and Human Security Brief 2007.