The Pentagon claims to have tens of thousands of Islamic State fighters by airstrikes. But, according to the published numbers, only very few were killed this year. At the same time the number of Islamic State fighters the Pentagon says are active and alive has remained essentially the same for over two years.
According to Pentagon claims documented below, just some 500 Islamic State fighters were killed by U.S. airstrikes in 2016. But its own Airpower Summary March 2016 says that between January and March 2,781 ground attack sorties were flown in Iraq and Syria with at least one weapon release each. Such a high sortie to kill rate is unprecedented. Who, if not Islamic State fighters, is the U.S. bombing?
Here is a list of the “Islamic State fighters killed” Pentagon claims:
January 22 2015
U.S. envoy to Iraq makes bold claim in ISIS fight
The Al Arabiya News Channel quoted Ambassador Stuart Jones in an interview published Thursday as saying U.S. estimates were that “the airstrikes have now killed more than 6,000 ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq.”
June 4 2015
U.S. official: 10,000-plus ISIS fighters killed in 9-month campaign
Paris (CNN)The U.S.-led coalition against ISIS has recorded more than 10,000 ISIS deaths since the campaign against the extremist group began nine months ago, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken told France Inter radio.
July 29 2015
Islamic State recruiting offsets 15,000 killed by airstrikes in past year
WASHINGTON — In a sign of its resilience, the Islamic State appears to have recruited new fighters to offset 15,000 militants killed in a U.S.-led airstrike campaign approaching its first anniversary, U.S. military and intelligence estimates show.
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The U.S.-led coalition confirmed the 15,000 casualty number but would not discuss it publicly.
October 12 2015
ISIL death toll at 20,000, but ‘stalemate’ continues
The U.S.-led bombing campaign has killed an estimated 20,000 Islamic State fighters, an increase from the 15,000 the Pentagon reported in July, according to a senior military officer.
November 30 2015
Islamic State defections mount as death toll rises, U.S. official says
Top military officials estimate that the campaign has killed 23,000 Islamic State fighters, raising their death toll by 3,000 since mid-October.
January 7 2016
Coalition Airstrikes Killed 2,500 ISIS Fighters in December: Pentagon
U.S. and coalition airstrikes in December killed an estimated 2,500 Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria and another 60 in the first few days of January, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad said Wednesday.
In January the Pentagon claimed about 25,560 Islamic State fighters were killed in airstrikes which makes the next claims rather weird.
April 13 2016
U.S. Military Campaign Takes Toll on ISIS’ Cash Flow
WASHINGTON — American airstrikes have killed 25,000 Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria and incinerated millions of dollars plundered by the militants, according to Pentagon officials.
April 13 2016
Pentagon claims 26,000 ISIS fighters dead in Iraq, Syria
The Pentagon claims the battle to defeat and destroy the terror group ISIS is going well, citing the fact that more than 26,000 isis terrorists have been killed. CNN’s Jim Sciutto reports.
So the Pentagon now says that only 440 Islamic State fighter were killed by its airstrikes since January 7? Looking at its previous claimed kill rates that number does not make sense. Or did the U.S. stop fighting the Islamic State?
Also unconvincing is the total number of Islamic State fighters the Pentagon and CIA claim. Despite all the claimed airstrike kills that number stays steady at some 30,000 since 2014. This while the foreign fighters contingent in ISIS alone is claimed to be at that size.
September 12 2014
ISIS can ‘muster’ between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters, CIA says
A CIA assessment puts the number of ISIS fighters at possibly more than three times the previous estimates.
The terror group that calls itself the Islamic State “can muster between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters across Iraq and Syria,” a CIA spokesman told CNN on Thursday.
September 27 2015
Up to 30,000 foreign fighters went to Syria and Iraq, report says
US intelligence fears nearly 30,000 foreign fighters have traveled to Iraq and Syria since 2011, many of them to join the Islamic State group, The New York Times reported Saturday.
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The New York Times’ report cites anonymous “intelligence and law enforcement officials.”
October 9 2015
The Pentagon’s Syria debacle
U.S. intelligence officials believe there are as many as 30,000 Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq, plus a patchwork of extremist groups such as the Al Nusra Front.
January 7 2016
Coalition Airstrikes Killed 2,500 ISIS Fighters in December: Pentagon
Despite the losses, however, ISIS still has between 20,000 and 30,000 fighters in its ranks, [Army Col. Steve Warren, a spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve,] said.