Baghdad: In its latest propaganda video, Daesh tried to project unwavering confidence and unstoppable growth, in what some analysts saw as a reply to a string of setbacks.
A 15-minute video released on Sunday shows the severed head of US aid worker Peter Kassig, who was kidnapped in Syria. His death was confirmed by Washington and sparked global outrage.
The document also includes a highly-choreographed sequence, with professional quality camera work, in which Daesh members line up at least 18 Syria military personnel and behead them simultaneously.
The video marked a new high in staged brutality by what is considered the most violent group in modern times but some analysts saw it as a sign of nervousness.
“Daesh remains a potent foe, especially to the millions suffering under its rule in Syria and Iraq, but the group appears disjointed and off-balance,” the Soufan Group think tank said in a briefing paper.
“The group has abandoned its disciplined messaging and is now throwing the rhetorical equivalent of the kitchen sink at both its supporters and opponents,” it said.
Officials in Washington and elsewhere have suggested that Daesh may have at least peaked, if not started to retreat, following the expansion phase that came with its June Iraq offensive and subsequent proclamation of an Islamic “caliphate”.
“I think you could relate it (the video) to the setbacks Daesh has had,” said Ayman Al Tamimi, a fellow at the Middle East Forum who is an expert on Islamist militant groups.
In Syria, more than 700 Daesh members are already said to have been killed in a so far fruitless effort to conquer a small Kurdish town on the Turkish border.
In Iraq, the group has firmed its grip on the large Sunni province of Anbar but appears to have lost the initiative elsewhere, being forced to defend territory from resurgent pro-government forces who retook the strategic northern town of Beiji last week.
The video was released three days after an audio recording attributed to IS supremo Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, who was rumoured to have been wounded or killed in an air strike.
He “assured” his followers that victory was still within reach and sounded at pains to paint the group as a growing movement winning new supporters every day.
“The ultra-violence in these videos serves two purposes: first... to rally the supporters, encourage the hesitant and deter defections,” said Dalia Ghanem Yazbeck, research analyst at the Carnegie Middle East Centre.
“Secondly, it shows that the group still has hard military power and it is there on the ground and effective now, and can strike anyone, anywhere, at any time,” she said.