CIA Estimates 20k-30k Fighters in Syria, Iraq
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The Central Intelligence Agency believes the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militant group “can muster between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters” throughout both Iraq and Syria.
If true, that would mean the ISIL’s numbers have more than doubled compared to the agency’s last estimate, which pinned the group’s total amount of fighters at roughly 10,000.
"This new total reflects an increase in members because of stronger recruitment since June following battlefield successes and the declaration of a caliphate, greater battlefield activity, and additional intelligence," a CIA spokesperson told CNN.
In addition to updating its estimates regarding the ISIL’s fighting force, a separate US official also told the news channel that the US government is already conducting surveillance flights within Syria’s borders.
The United States is looking to collect information that would help it determine when and whether to launch airstrikes in Syria, in order to degrade the group’s ability to fight and maneuver.
Still, these flights do not indicate that airstrikes will be launched soon, another unnamed official added.
Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman Adm. John Kirby said that whenever the US does take military action against the group, it will also consider targeting individuals in leadership positions.
“One of the ways you get at and you destroy the capabilities of an enemy like (ISIL) is to be pretty aggressive against them, and that does include disrupting their ability to command and control and to lead their own forces," Kirby said.
Both of these revelations come less than a day after President Barack Obama outlined his plan to seek out and destroy ISIL fighters “wherever they exist,” noting that military action would be taken not only in Iraq, but also in Syria if necessary.
