Washington (CNN) -- A CIA
assessment puts the number of ISIS fighters at possibly more than three times
the previous estimates.
The terror group that
calls itself the Islamic State "can muster between 20,000 and 31,500
fighters across Iraq and Syria," a CIA spokesman told CNN on Thursday.
Analysts and U.S.
officials initially estimated there were as many as 10,000 fighters, including
those who were freed from prisons by ISIS, and Sunni loyalists who have joined
the fight as the group advanced across Iraq.
"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," the spokesman said.
The news came a day
after President Barack Obama laid out his
plan to "dismantle and ultimately destroy" ISIS,
including authorizing airstrikes.
Mass executions and
videotaped beheadings, including those of two American journalists, have led to
the push for a broader counterterrorism mission, including possible airstrikes
in civil war-torn Syria.
It's unclear how the
ISIS ranks swelled, and whether the increased numbers include recruits from
within Iraq.
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