A year of Islamic State terrorist attacks
Analysis and translation of the Al-Naba Newspaper infographic for the year 1446
On 26 June 2025, all channels of the Islamic State terrorist group released the new issue of its weekly al-Naba every Thursday. In this case, in issue 501 (to read al-Naba's 501 issue analysis in detail, click here), the organisation published a detailed infographic showing the harvest and results of terrorist attacks conducted for the Islamic year 1446, i.e. from 7 July 2024 to 26 June 2025.
As the infographic above shows, the Islamic State (IS) claimed to have conducted 1141 attacks in the year 1446 (down slightly from the year 1445, which ran from July 19, 2023 to July 6, 2024 [read here], when 1258 attacks were claimed, resulting in the death and injury of 5909 soldiers and civilians), claiming the killing and injury of 4943 soldiers and civilians.
The Islamic State also specifies that 230 (both civilians and soldiers) people were taken prisoner (last year it was 51).
*Just to let you know, IS may have slightly inflated the figures provided. However, it has been established over the years that the statistics provided by IS are realistic and fairly accurate, especially those related to the number of attacks conducted.
The Islamic State provides details on the areas where they were conducted, the manner of attack, the targets and the damage caused. The Islamic State has claimed attacks in 10 of its official provinces, and in 4 areas outside them, specifically the attacks in Russia, Germany, Azerbaijan, and Oman (read more about the details of the Oman attack here) .
The infographic shows in detail the areas where attacks were conducted, the number of attacks and the casualties caused, as listed below:
Number Attacks (in brackets the number of deaths and injuries caused according to IS):
West Africa Province [ISWAP: including Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger]: 445 (1552)
East Asia Province [ISEAP: Philippines]: 4 (8)
Sahel Province [Including Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger]: 40 (535)
Somalia Province: 71 (837)
Central Africa Province [ISCAP: DR Congo, Uganda]: 240 (1126)
Mozambique Province: 100 (205)
Khorasan Province [Afghanistan, former Pakistan Tribal Areas]: 35 (265)
Iraqi Province: 21 (67)
Sham Province [Syria]: 174 (254)
Pakistan Province: 7 (31)
Russia: 1 (8)
Oman: 1 (36)
Germany: 1 (11)
Azerbaijan: 1 (8).
The Islamic State also specifies how it conducted the attacks, claiming the use of ambushes (84) Inghimasi and Itsisshadi attacks (18), direct armed assaults and clashes (606), targeted assassinations (35), use of IEDs (198) and various other operations (197), and parked car bombs (3).
Finally, the infographic shows the type of targets hit to cause the aforementioned military and civilian casualties:
Destruction of vehicles (497), destruction and burning of houses and shops (1616), helicopters and drones (2) Barracks and camps (70) and churches (20).
Conclusion
As was already evident from the claims, videos, photo reports, and other propaganda material published in the previous months, it was clear that Africa was the most affected area, particularly Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, and compared to last year, Somalia as well, where, in the mentioned countries, attacks increased considerably, both against barracks, convoys, bases and military camps, and against Christian civilians.
Outside of Africa, only in Syria and Afghanistan does activity still remain significant, albeit declining.
It is important to point out, however, that even though attack figures are declining slightly, the quality and harmfulness of attacks has increased, as well as their sophistication. For example, attacks on large convoys and encampments are becoming more frequent, and attacks are becoming more frequent at night and with new technologies or strategies.
Daniele Garofalo is a researcher and analyst on Jihadist Terrorism, Islamist Insurgents and Armed Groups. He is an expert in Monitoring Jihadist Media Channels and Islamist rebels and Armed Groups.
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