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ANALYSIS

The terrorists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) have proven themselves to be a brutal, bloodthirsty band of brigands. On social media they have reveled in the gory details of beheadings, stonings, crucifixions and mass murder.

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But while their depravity and cruelness have shocked the world, less attention has been focused on their astonishing battlefield successes.

ISIS fighters streamed down the Euphrates valley, sweeping away Iraqi soldiers who were better equipped and far out-numbered them, all the while seizing town after town. They won battles against the legendary Kurdish peshmerga and seized key installations, including the Mosul dam. They also control areas around Baghdad and while it is unlikely they would ever take the city, there are fears they could surround it and isolate it.

ISIS’s self-proclaimed “caliphate” now covers an area the size of Great Britain, with a population of six million.