U.S. Secures Vast New Trove of Intelligence on ISIS

(New York Times) Eric Schmitt - The U.S. is poring over a vast trove of new intelligence about Islamic State fighters who have flowed into Syria and Iraq and some who then returned to their home countries, after American-backed Syrian Kurdish and Arab militias seized more than 10,000 documents and 4.5 terabytes of digital data in recent weeks while fighting insurgents in Manbij in northern Syria. Officials said the information included the fighters' identities, countries of origin, routes into Syria and the illicit networks that recruited and ferried them to the region. While some estimates have cut in half the monthly flow of fighters into Syria and Iraq, American analysts say 500 to 1,000 fighters a month are still pouring in. Earlier this month, Jean-Paul Laborde, head of the UN's counterterrorism committee, said nearly 30,000 foreign fighters remained in Syria and Iraq - far more than Western intelligence agencies had estimated.


2016-07-28 00:00:00

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