FILE PHOTO: This undated image made from a video released by Islamic State militants, Sunday, April 19, 2015, appears to show the killing of a group of captured Ethiopian Christians in LibyaPHOTO: AP
AFP – A major increase in violence by the Islamic State group saw over 1,000 attacks and nearly 3,000 deaths worldwide in the past three months, analysis firm IHS Jane’s said Thursday.
The figures show a 42-percent jump in daily attacks by the jihadist group, averaging 11.8 per day from July to September, up from 8.3 per day between April and June.
The figures suggest that air strikes by the US-led coalition have had only a limited impact on the group.
The London-based analysis firm recorded 1,086 IS attacks, causing a total of 2,978 civilian and government fatalities — a huge 65.3 percent increase in the average daily killings by the group compared to the previous three months, and an 81 percent jump on one year earlier.
IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre uses open sources to compile their database, and said IS likely carried out far more attacks that could not be verified.
“While the airstrikes and wider coalition efforts have put the group under significant pressure, it is seemingly still some way from being sufficiently weakened to allow the recapture of territory, let alone be defeated,” Matthew Henman, head of the Terrorism and Insurgency Centre, told AFP.
Russia’s increased involvement in Syria in recent weeks is likely to further strengthen IS, since there was a “clear indication” that Moscow is more interested in defending the Syrian regime than defeating IS.
“Already over the past week the Islamic State has made gains in areas of Aleppo governorate due to the targeting of rival opposition groups and this is likely to continue,” said Henman.
“Civilian deaths in Russian airstrikes also give the Islamic State a powerful …Read More
Source:: PM Newspaper
