How ISIL is funded, trained and operating in Iraq and Syria

[LarryW]

Consider the economic impact IS is having on the world market. They have money to spend and a world anxious to sell everything from dirt bikes to tennis shoes, and at retail prices.

How ISIL is funded, trained and operating in Iraq and Syria

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...and-Syria.html

Islamic State and the Levant is a growing terrorist organisation, but just who are they and where does their money come from?

Islamic State and the Levant is growing financially and militarily but their greatest financial triumph came in June when they captured Mosul. But how is the group funded and how did their capabilities increase?

ISIL is the richest terrorist organisation in history. Over the past six months, since the group began sweeping across eastern Syria and into Iraq, experts estimate that its leaders have gained access to £1.2 billion in cash – more than the most recent recorded annual military expenditure of Ireland. "ISIL is not out in the economic boondocks of Afghanistan or hidden in deserts and caves," said Paul Sullivan, a Middle East specialist at Georgetown University in Washington. "ISIL is developing in a vital oil, gas and trade area of the world. It can grab as it expands."

Their greatest financial triumph came when they captured the Iraqi town of Mosul in June and looted the city's banks. Reports at the time suggested the group's fighters may have made off with £240 million, though the Iraqi government later said the heist did not occur.

Five captured oilfields provide up to £1.8 million per day in revenue, with much of the oil smuggled across the border into Turkey and Iran.

They are thought to earn up to £5 million a month through extortion of local businesses. In the past year they are estimated to have made £40 million from taking hostages, with each foreign hostage thought to be worth £3m – although the kidnappers of American journalist James Foley demanded £80 million.

Private donations from supporters in the Gulf also contribute to their funding – although Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations have tried to make it harder to do so without government approval. During the war in Afghanistan, Saudi supporters could donate money directly at their mosque with no government supervision.

When they captured Mosul, Iraq's envoy to the UN said they obtained nearly 88lb (40kg) of nuclear material, in the form of low-grade uranium compounds seized from a scientific research facility. The nuclear material would not be easily turned into weapons.

After conquering swaths of western Iraq, ISIL fighters also now control territory where 40 per cent of the country's wheat is grown. The group's members are also reportedly milling grain in government silos and selling the flour on the local market.

TACTICS & TARGETS

ISIL's strategy is to capture cities, occupy civilian homes, and expand their vision of a Sunni Islamic state ruled by Sharia law – meaning that it is extremely difficult for a conventional army to launch a counter-attack.

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