ISIS launching more attacks, gaining more advantage despite sustained Russian airstrikes, experts say
Russian airstrikes are doing more harm than good in Syria, allowing the Islamic State (ISIS) to have more room to manoeuvre and reposition its fighters, according to the IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre.
The centre, which has done a tally of ISIS attacks in 2015 since Russia began bombing the militants, said ISIS attacks in the war-torn country have increased despite sustained aerial campaign by Russian forces, NBC News reported.
"Following the start of airstrikes and Russian intervention in September 2015, the number of Islamic State attacks in Iraq declined in the last quarter of the year, however, the number of attacks in Syria increased [after that]," said Matthew Henman, head of Jane's centre.
"This is somewhat a consequence of the growing pressure the Islamic State has come under in Iraq. Whereas in Syria the group has had more room to manoeuvre and, at least for the time being, retained the ability to relocate fighters between the different front lines,'' he added.
In an interview with Sky News, Col. Steve Warren, military spokesman for the Global Coalition against Islamic State, also said that some of the strikes that the Russians have conducted [in Syria] have benefited the extremist group.
"They (ISIS) are using this Russian aggression, Russian airstrikes against opposition forces as their opportunity to begin maneuvering,'' he told the television news.
Between Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2015, the centre said ISIS managed to carry out 250 attacks in Iraq that claimed 999 lives, and 524 attacks in Syria that left 506 dead.
Henman said while the attacks were fewer in Iraq, they are more "ferocious'' compared to Syria. He cited factors such as increased pressure from the government security forces there as well as Kurdish and Shia militias.
The centre also indicated that because of the air attacks by Russian forces on some key cities in Syria, the extremist group was forced to refocus on the cities of Homs and Deir es Zour.
Henman further said that the apparent consequence of Russian's bombing raids on ISIS is the increased attacks beyond the borders of their so-called caliphate during the last quarter of 2015, such as the bloody massacres in Paris and Beirut, and a series of attacks in Bangladesh.
"They are attacking outside the caliphate in response to the airstrikes," he said."Their aim is to prove the group remains active despite the airstrikes and also capable of directly punishing those attacking the caliphate."
Moscow has declared that it is using its air sorties to destroy all terrorist groups. But critics say Russia has attacked moderate groups more than ISIS.
ISIS now has 25,000 fighters, down from a height of 35,000, according to U.S authorities.
