The Islamic State (ISIS) has always massacred civilians in large numbers to show its strength and instill fear in its adversaries.
Just before Paris, ISIS suicide bombers had killed 43 people in Beirut on November 12 and 26 more in Baghdad on November 13.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks, stating that France was targeted in retaliation for its airstrikes in Syria. These simultaneous attacks on Friday the 13th in the French capital were meticulously planned. They involve a paramilitary command logistics.
Does ISIS possess such a structure that explains these suicide attacks now taking place outside, beyond Syria and Iraq?
The French attacks by ISIS occur at a turning point for the terrorist organization since it is now being attacked on multiple fronts: in Syria by the Russians and now by France, in Iraq by the Kurds.
Last week, the Syrian army, supported by Russian airstrikes, ended the siege of the Aleppo airport. The Syrian Kurds, in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force, are advancing in southern Syria, around Hasaka, while the Iraqi Kurds recently captured the town of Sinjar west of Mosul.
France has just bombed Raqqa. By losing Mosul and Raqqa, ISIS is losing its grip on the oilfields of northeastern Syria, from which it has so far drawn all its revenues, reportedly colossal.
Another setback ISIS recently suffered is the loss of its main border crossing point between Syria and Turkey, the Tal Abyad point, which was captured by the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).
Thus, half of the border between the Tigris and the Euphrates is currently held by the Kurds, making ISIS’s access to the outside world much more limited than before.
ISIS is therefore in retreat, and recently, it has lost 25% of the territories it had conquered.
ISIS was formed in combat in Iraq and Syria. A large part of the troops consists of mercenaries with proven military skills.
Today, the fighters of ISIS thus represent a powerful mix of urban terrorism, guerrilla tactics, and conventional warfare.
The fanatical volunteers, many of whom are French and would have previously traveled through Turkey to join ISIS, will now effectively provide an exalted workforce pool for local use in suicide operations.
Increased international cooperation in the field of intelligence will be needed to face these potential threats.
The recent tragic events in Paris have shown that, for the moment, we are far from reaching that goal!
