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Islamic State (ISIS) activity around the globe has dropped significantly between 2021 to 2022, according to a comparison of figures the jihadist group released and independent sources. The group claims to have conducted a total of 2,058 attacks in 2022, dropping from 2021’s 2,705 according to the Israel-based Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center.
The group also lost more of its already reduced ability to target Iraq and Syria, its former powerhouses and where it had its so-called ‘capital’. According to figures published on propaganda agency Amaq, as relayed by the North Press Agency, the highest number of ISIS attacks occurred in Nigeria. Iraq came second, and Syria followed in third place.
In 2021, Iraq had been subjected to the highest number of ISIS attacks, while Afghanistan saw the deadliest attack after the US military pull-out, with more than 170 civilian and US military casualties in the August attack at the Kabul airport.
ISIS’s 2022 attacks in Syria came largely in central regions and the Euphrates River valley. The group claimed 297 attacks in Syria, while North Press has bene able to document 178. The figures don’t include the attack on al-Sinaa Prison in Hasakah, the most significant attack of the year in Syria aiming to free ISIS detainees. The attack resulted in 10 days of clashes between ISIS and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with some 500 casualties from both sides.
The past year also saw more than 1,000 ISIS attacks in 13 African countries. Some of the attacks were conducted by groups pledging allegiance to ISIS and acting on its behalf. In total, ISIS claims to have killed 6,881 people in 22 countries in 2022.
