Iraq terrorists’ careful tally of violence showcases brutality
The militant group that exploded onto the scene in Iraq this year has been carefully cataloging its brutalities over recent years in an annual report published online.
The report from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant — known as ISIL or ISIS — lists in detail the number of assassinations, suicide bombings, knifings and even “apostates run over,” according to the Institute for the Study of War, a think-tank that analyzed the publication.
The report covers last year, before ISIL overtook the cities of Mosul and Tikrit in northern Iraq in recent weeks.
The group claims it doubled its attacks in Iraq last year to 9,540, up from 4,500 in 2012.
The report suggests a sophisticated level of planning and command.
The ISIL offensives “seem to have shocked not only the American intelligence community but intelligence communities across the globe,” Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official and an analyst at the Brookings Institution, said in a recent interview.
Riedel said the United States reduced its intelligence presence in Iraq when the remainder of its combat forces withdrew in 2011. “We have a tendency to underestimate the Sunni extremists in Iraq,” he said.
Militant organizations often exaggerate or lie about their successes to attract donors, so it is difficult to know how much to read into the latest report. ISIL gets funds from donors in wealthy Persian Gulf states and criminal organizations it runs.
The report suggests the group functions as a military organization with a strategy of attempting to hold any terrain it wrests from Iraqi security forces, according to the institute. That differs from a terrorist strategy of wreaking havoc in an effort to undermine the legitimacy of the state.
The report did not provide details on fatalities, but images released after the group took over Mosul suggested it slaughtered about 1,700 Iraqi troops.
The report divided attacks into categories, including “apostates run over.” The group claims to have run over one person in 2012 but none last year.
The militants label anyone who doesn’t support its radical form of Islam an apostate or unbeliever.
The report also tracked “apostates repented,” referring to winning over fellow Sunnis in areas the group has seized. The militants claimed several hundred.