ISIS Was Built On Oil
ISIS has lost its caliphate. The infamous terrorist organization that just a few years ago had even the most powerful world leaders terrified as it snapped up more and more Continue Reading
Islamic State Members From the West Seek Help Getting Home
Members of the Syria Democratic Forces recently after taking control of a Syrian village from… Disenchanted Islamic State members recruited from the West have increasingly been contacting their governments and Continue Reading
U.N. targets Islamic State oil finance network
Finance ministers gathered at the United Nations said that, with millions of dollars coming from illegal oil sales, it was time to target Islamic State funding. “So far, ISIL has Continue Reading
Islamic State oil is going to Assad, some to Turkey: U.S. official
Russia’s defence ministry officials displayed satellite images on Wednesday which they said showed columns… Islamic State militants are engaged in oil trading worth as much as $40 million a month Continue Reading
ISIS Transforming Into Functioning State That Uses Terror as Tool
ISTANBUL — The Islamic State uses terror to force obedience and frighten enemies. It has seized territory, destroyed antiquities, slaughtered minorities, forced women into sexual slavery and turned children into killers. But its officials are apparently resistant to bribes, and in that way, at least, it has outdone the corrupt Syrian and Iraqi governments it routed, residents and experts say. “You can travel from Raqqa to Mosul and no one will dare to stop you even if you carry $1 million,” said Bilal, who lives in Raqqa, the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Syria , and out of fear insisted on being identified only by his first name. “No one would dare to take even one dollar.” The Islamic State, also known as ISIS , ISIL and Daesh, initially functioned solely as a terrorist organization, if one more coldblooded even than Al Qaeda. Then it went on to […]
Mosul insurgents challenge Islamic State occupiers
Members of the Islamic State militant group drive through Mosul on June 12, 2014. (STRINGER/Reuters) MOSUL – Members of the so-called Islamic State (IS) group are being hunted in and around Mosul. Dozens of militants have been killed, mostly gunned down by assassins, over the past two months as the group that calls itself Kataib al-Mosul – the Mosul Brigades, in English – has launched a violent insurgency. "We finally decided to end our silence," said Fawaz al-Badrani, the pseudonym used by a leader of Kataib al-Mosul, who spoke to Iraq Oil Report by phone. "What we mainly sought for is the liberation of Mosul, even if it means cooperating with the devil himself." Badrani claims to have been a Republican Guard officer under Saddam Hussein. In addition to targeting IS fighters directly, his group has helped feed locations of IS military positions and other information to pro-government forces […]
Assad’s Forces May Be Aiding New ISIS Surge
ISTANBUL — Building on recent gains in Iraq and Syria, Islamic State militants are marching across northern Syria toward Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, helped along, their opponents say, by the forces of President Bashar al-Assad . In the countryside northeast of Aleppo on Tuesday, Islamic State fighters fought rival Syrian insurgents amid fears that the Islamic State was positioning itself to make Aleppo its next big prize. Syrian opposition leaders accused the Syrian government of essentially collaborating with the Islamic State, leaving the militants unmolested as they pressed a surprise offensive against other insurgent groups — even though the government and the Islamic State are nominal enemies — and instead striking the rival insurgents. At the same time, the rebels complained that the United States has refrained from contributing air support to help them fend off simultaneous attacks by the government and the Islamic State. The United States has […]
The Islamic State appears to fray from within
this undated file image posted on June 30, 2014, by the Raqqa Media Center of the Islamic State group, a Syrian opposition group, fighters from the Islamic State group parade in Raqqa. (Uncredited/AP) BEIRUT — The Islamic State appears to be starting to fray from within, as dissent, defections and setbacks on the battlefield sap the group’s strength and erode its aura of invincibility among those living under its despotic rule. Reports of rising tensions between foreign and local fighters, aggressive and increasingly unsuccessful attempts to recruit local citizens for the front lines, and a growing incidence of guerrilla attacks against Islamic State targets suggest the militants are struggling to sustain their carefully cultivated image as a fearsome fighting force drawing Muslims together under the umbrella of a utopian Islamic state. The anecdotal reports, drawn from activists and residents of areas under Islamic State control, don’t offer any indication […]
Subsidies may curb Islamic State oil financing
Liz Rosenburg, director of the energy and security program at the Center for a New American Security, says providing cheap oil products to regional allies could cut revenue stream for the Islamic State. File photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (UPI) — Western supporters fighting the group calling itself the Islamic State should consider subsidizing regional fuels to curb terror financing, a U.S. scholar said. The Islamic State is said to generate anywhere between several hundred thousand dollars to as much as $2 billion in illicit oil trade. Liz Rosenburg, director of the energy and security program at the Center for a New American Security, told delegates at the Washington Institute of Near East Policy that, while it was difficult to pinpoint exact financing, the group’s ability to generate funding through oil is diminished. "It is unlikely to be anywhere near the top of that spectrum now, given […]
Special Report: For Islamic State, wheat season sows seeds of discontent
ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – As the season for wheat planting in Iraq wound down early last month, farmers in areas under the control of Sunni militant group Islamic State grew worried. More than two dozen farmers told Reuters they had not planted the normal amount of seed, because they could not access their land, did not have the proper fertilizers or adequate fuel, or because they had no guarantees that Islamic State would buy their crop as Baghdad normally does. Farmers, and Iraqi and United Nations’ officials, now fear a drastically reduced crop this spring. That could leave hundreds of thousands of Iraqis hungry. But another big loser would be Islamic State, which controls territory that normally produces as much as 40 percent of Iraq’s wheat crop. The breakaway al Qaeda group, which declared an Islamic caliphate across parts of Syria and Iraq last summer, has killed thousands and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes. Islamic State militants had hoped to use wheat to show it can […]
Control of Syrian Oil Fuels War Between Kurds and Islamic State
A man from the Syrian village of Ali Agha near the border with Iraq digs… ENLARGE A man from the Syrian village of Ali Agha near the border with Iraq digs a hole for a new kiln to refine crude oil. Residents have pledged to support Kurdish forces in exchange for discounted crude oil that they refine into fuels sold to black-market traders. Sam Dagher/The Wall Street Journal AL-YAROUBIYAH, Syria—Plumes of black smoke billow on the horizon of this border town in northeast Syria, a thumb-shaped corner of the country that pokes into neighboring Turkey and Iraq. The smoke isn’t from war, but it rises from the deadly fight over resources between Islamic State and Kurdish fighters. Men, women and children operate thousands of primitive metal kilns to refine crude oil distributed by the warring sides to buy loyalty. Residents sell the fuel they make to black-market traders. With […]
Islamic State leader urges attacks in Saudi Arabia: speech
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called for attacks against the rulers of Saudi Arabia in a speech purported to be in his name on Thursday, saying his self-declared caliphate was expanding there and in four other Arab countries. Baghdadi also said a U.S.-led military campaign against his group in Syria and Iraq was failing and he called for "volcanoes of jihad" the world over. Reuters could not independently confirm the authenticity of the speech – an audio recording carried on Islamic State-run social media. The voice sounded similar to a previous speech delivered by Baghdadi in July in a mosque in the Iraqi city of Mosul, the last time he spoke in public. The speech followed contradictory accounts out of Iraq after U.S. air strikes last Friday about whether he was wounded in a raid. U.S. officials said on Tuesday they could not confirm whether […]
ISIS Wave of Might Is Turning Into Ripple
BAGHDAD — The extremists of the Islamic State appeared unstoppable after their sudden blitz through Iraq this summer, with its battle-hardened fighters continually raising their black flag over newly conquered areas. Today, roughly a third of Iraq is dotted by active battle fronts, with intense fighting and occasional Islamic State victories. But analysts also say the days of easy and rapid gains for the jihadists may be coming to a close in Iraq, as the group’s momentum appears to be stalling. The international airstrike campaign against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has clearly played a role in slowing the Sunni Muslim group’s advance. But analysts say other factors are having a major effect, including unfavorable sectarian and political demographics, pushback from overrun communities, damage to the group’s financial base in Syria and slight improvements by ground forces in Iraq. Across the territories the Islamic State […]
Oil not only Islamic State target, advocacy group says
Military targeting of oil installations controlled by Islamic State may not be enough, advocacy group says. (UPI/Shutterstock/ekina) Action beyond hitting the Islamic State’s oil revenues with bombs in Syria is needed if the campaign is to succeed, a peace advocacy group said. In September, U.S. President Barack Obama announced a military campaign to take out militants from the Sunni-led terrorist group in control of parts of Iraq and Syria. Now dubbed Operation Inherent Resolve , the campaign has focused on Syrian oil installations controlled by the group calling itself the Islamic State. Paul Kawika Martin, director of advocacy group Peace Action, said the military campaign has so far failed to contain IS. "Instead of methods that are likely to cause more extremism like air strikes to reduce oil revenues, other options include freezing bank accounts of ISIS supporters, negotiating with local villages where oil pipelines are being used and […]
Isis sells smuggled oil to Turkey and Iraqi Kurds says US Treasury
A makeshift oil refinery in the Syrian province of Hasakah ©Reuters The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) is earning as much as $1m a day through the sale of oil to some of its biggest enemies: middlemen from Turkey, Iraq’s Kurdish community and the regime of Bashar al-Assad, according to the US Treasury. The remarks – made in a speech to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on Thursday by undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence David Cohen – are likely to raise eyebrows in a region where questions are already being asked over Ankara’s commitment to fighting Isis and Kurdish fighters are battling to avoid being over-run by the jihadis in the Syrian city of Kobani . More On this story Battle revives Kurds’ nationalist ambitions Analysis Fuelling Isis Inc Video Turkey backed into corner over Kobani US urges Turkey to act against Isis Global […]
Islamic State oil grip weakened
Air strikes hurting black market oil network of the Islamic State, analysis finds. UPI/Matthew Bruch/USAF HOUSTON, Oct. 3 (UPI) — Analysis of U.S.-led airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria finds the group’s ability to exploit oil for a source of revenue has been diminished. Analysis published Friday by the Energy Intelligence Group estimates around 4,000 air sorties launched by U.S. forces and their allies have knocked out about half of the refinery capacity captured by the group calling itself the Islamic State. "Air power alone will not defeat Islamic State, but it has dealt the jihadists’ oil industry a significant blow," the report said. The terrorist group in control of parts of Syria and Iraq is said to be generating about $2 million per day on pilfered oil. Iraqi leaders and peace advocacy groups have said action must be taken to contain oil’s role in IS […]
U.S., Arab partners launch first strikes on IS in Syria
WASHINGTON/BEIRUT (Reuters) – The United States and several Gulf Arab allies launched air and missile strikes on Islamic State strongholds in Syria on Tuesday, U.S. officials said, opening a new, far more complicated front in the battle against the militants. "I can confirm that U.S. military and partner nation forces are undertaking military action against (Islamic State) terrorists in Syria using a mix of fighter, bomber and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles," Rear Admiral John Kirby, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement. "Given that these operations are ongoing, we are not in a position to provide additional details at this time." A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Bahrain were all involved, although their exact roles in the military action were unclear. Qatar played a supporting role in the air strikes, the official said. Another official said at […]
Islamic State Fills Coffers From Illicit Economy in Syria, Iraq
Islamic State militants have overrun parts of Iraq and Syrian provinces such as Raqqa, above, capturing munitions. The group, formerly known as ISIS or ISIL, raises money through extortion, oil pirating and kidnapping. Reuters The Islamic State runs a self-sustaining economy across territory it controls in Syria and Iraq, pirating oil while exacting tribute from a population of at least eight million, Arab and Western officials said, making it one of the world’s richest terror groups and an unprecedented threat. That illicit economy presents a new picture of Islamic State’s financial underpinnings. The group was once thought to depend on funding from Arab Gulf donors and donations from the broader Muslim world. Now, Islamic State—the former branch of al Qaeda that has swallowed parts of Iraq and Syria—is a largely self-financed organization. Money from outside donors "pales in comparison to their self-funding through criminal and terrorist activities," a U.S. […]
Islamic State Entrenches in Syrian City as Obama Mulls Next Step
In the Syrian city of Raqqah on the banks of the Euphrates River, Islamic State militants are busy building a capital fit for their followers. Human rights observers say they have stoned women to death for adultery, while residents report that religious textbooks have been imported for schools and the market flooded with black cloaks for girls as young as 6 years old. Even as it wages war on multiple fronts, the group has had time to focus on the details, recruit thousands into its forces and celebrate victories by parading the heads of its enemies. It’s a reflection of how entrenched the group has become in Syria and how difficult it will be to uproot it from the country where it was able to assemble and train enough forces to push into Iraq in June. U.S. airstrikes alone won’t do it and the international community doesn’t have any […]