TerrorismData on Islamic State Attacks Could be Masking Growing Problem, Some Fear
Across Iraq and Syria there is a growing sense of unease that when it comes to the Islamic State terror group, data showing the jihadist force on its heels should not be trusted. While the U.S.-led military coalition argues Islamic State is a shadow of its former self, some officials with U.S. partner forces argue the terror group has actually become more powerful and more dangerous.
Across Iraq and Syria there is a growing sense of unease that when it comes to the Islamic State terror group, data showing the jihadist force on its heels should not be trusted.
While the U.S.-led military coalition argues Islamic State is a shadow of its former self, some officials with U.S. partner forces argue the terror group has actually become more powerful and more dangerous.
“This year they have systematic attacks,” a source close to the U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in Iraq and Syria told VOA, noting that last year IS attacked many of the same areas repeatedly. “Now they are spread like cancer.”
At issue is not just the number of attacks IS has carried out in recent weeks, but the choice of targets, the tactics and the ferocity of the terror group’s latest offensive.
“In Diyala and Salahaddin [Iraq], things are so bad that some Sunni tribes are carrying weapons,” said the source, who once fought alongside U.S. forces.
“I Don’t Believe It”
Pressed about the data showing IS attacks, while trending up in recent weeks, are not as substantial as they were at the same time last year, he said simply, “I don’t believe it.”
The terror group’s activity has likewise made an impression on Jordan’s King Abdullah II, a key partner in the anti-IS coalition.
“ISIS is increasing attacks in Iraq … threatening to undo years of global efforts,” he told a special operations forces conference Tuesday, using an acronym for Islamic State.
The observations are a stark contrast to what has been described by U.S. and coalition officials.
“Over the past few months we’ve seen notable successes in the fight against Daesh,” the coalition’s commander, Lieutenant General Pat White, told reporters on a call last week from Baghdad, using another acronym for the terror group.
“They are lacking in financing, they are lacking in fighters and they are lacking in support by the populace in most areas,” he said. “The attacks that we’ve been witnessing here over the past weeks are inconsistent with an organization [IS] that we knew of in the past.”
According to the coalition’s data, IS claimed 151 attacks in April, an increase over previous months, but on par with the 152 attacks claimed in April 2019.
Records kept by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a U.S.-based nonprofit research group, reveal a similar trend.
ACLED data show IS carried out 53 attacks in Iraq and Syria in March, 103 attacks in April and 40
