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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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. […]

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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 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple