Spike in 'Islamic State' attacks

Attacks by the "Islamic State" (IS) militant group climbed by 42 percent per day in the past three months, according to a report released on Thursday by IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Center (JTIC).

The analysis firm said IS carried out a total of 1,086 attacks across the globe from July through the end of September 2015.

"On a global scale there was relatively little in the way of nominal territorial expansion by the Islamic State in the past three months," said IHS JTIC head Matthew Henman, according to a press release. "Instead, the Islamic State mantained its strategy of expanding and consolidating local territorial control within its existing structure of provinces."

IS activity in Africa highlighted

The report examines the group's activity in all the territory it currently claims, not only in Syria and Iraq but also in Egypt, Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the North Caucasus and Algeria.

Analysts pointed out that mass casualties were significantly higher in parts of Africa, where the IS-affiliated terror group Boko Haram maintains a strong presence.

"(Boko Haram) has maintained a high intensity of such operations despite a multinational counter-insurgency offensive that has been ongoing since March," Henman said.

The findings come as the US and other foreign governments have stepped up fighting in the Middle East in the past month. Earlier in October, the US also announced it had launched its largest-ever troop deployment to Cameroon to fight Boko Haram.

IHS JTIC describes itself as an organization "designed to help analysts to cut through the clutter and deliver objective, meaningful, actionable intelligence to key audiences quickly and effectively."