ISIS stepping up attacks as territory shrinks

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has carried out more attacks inside Iraq and Syria in the first three months of the year than at any point since it first rose to power in 2014, according to a new analysis from IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center.

{mosads}“Following territorial losses, we are seeing a steady upward trend in the tempo of Islamic State operations worldwide, but particularly in Syria and Iraq,” Matthew Henman, head of IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center, said in a press release. “Attack and fatality numbers have jumped. The group is resorting more and more to mass-casualty violence as it comes under heavy pressure from multiple angles.”

In the first quarter of 2016, the analysis firm recorded 891 ISIS attacks inside Iraq and Syria. That’s up 16.7 percent from the last quarter of 2015.

The first quarter of 2016 also saw the highest number of fatalities since the second quarter of 2015. From Jan. 1 to March 31, 2,150 nonmilitants were killed in Iraq and Syria, up 43.4 percent from the end of 2015.

U.S. officials said ISIS has lost 40 percent of the territory it once held in Iraq, while numbers for Syria have fluctuated. Iraqi forces, bolstered by the U.S.-led coalition’s airpower, retook Ramadi late last year and are preparing to retake Mosul.

ISIS is also stepping up attacks inside Libya, according to the report. There were almost as many attacks in Libya in the first three months of 2016 as in the last six months of 2015, the report says.

U.S. officials have said the number of ISIS fighters in Libya has doubled over the past year, as they have a harder time getting into Iraq and Syria. Estimates place the number between 4,000 and 6,000.

“Islamic State attacks are intensifying in Libya after a several month slump,” Henman said. “After a seeming period of consolidation and preparation, Islamic State forces in the country launched a series of major attacks on critical energy infrastructure in addition to conducting the deadliest single attack since the overthrow of the government of Muammar Ghadaffi in August 2011.”