American fighter jets have been launching airstrikes on ISIS since August. But a new report from NBC News' Cassandra Vinograd suggests those strikes have "failed to slow the number of ISIS attacks, and its defiant militants are now racking up a higher body count than ever before."
NBC obtained data from IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Center that shows a clear increase in ISIS killings in Iraq.
In January, the group was responsible for at least 47 fatalities. Starting in June — the month ISIS unfurled its black banners in Mosul — the monthly death toll inflicted by ISIS has remained in the triple digits. JTIC counted at least 270 ISIS-caused fatalities in June. For the period after the launch of airstrikes, ISIS caused at least 263 deaths in September and then 336 in October. [NBC News]
"The airstrikes certainly aren't impairing their ability to intensify their attacks or carry out their campaign," the head of JTIC told NBC. "They're not cowed by them, they're not afraid."
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