After the previous reports: ISIL caliphate shrank by 14 percent after Russian intervention , and: Record! Russian Warplanes Destroy Over 1,300 Terrorist Targets in Syria in One Week , and after the conflicting decision to withdraw from Syria: Putin and the withdrawal from Syria: a no-defeat or a no-victory? , here is the latest update received:
The Islamic State would be facing its biggest financial crisis. This is the conclusion of the US Treasury Department in a new report that analyzes the actual economic condition of the Caliphate.
“The cash shortages have already forced the group to halve the salaries of Iraqi and Syrian fighters. The constant desertions confirm that many units have not received salary for months. The discontent of civilians, also continues to increase due to the ever-higher taxes “and the absolute absence of services provided.
According to the US Department of the Treasury, the economic upheaval has been determined by military campaign of the Russian-led coalition that hit the main entrances of the Caliphate, such as oil facilities and currency deposits. The Islamic State has reduced by one third the production of oil, while the total turnover linked to such business fell 50%.
According to latest studies, compared to last year, the Islamic state has lost 40% of the territory. Unlike al-Qaeda, which based its revenue in part on the donations of abroad supporters, the Islamic state has traditionally generated its income locally through taxes on businesses and civilians, including the “tax on infidels”. “If they don’t control the territory they cannot take advantage of the population. They cannot take advantage of the natural resources, whether it’s oil, wheat or water.”
It’s common opinion that the recent terrorist attacks in Europe are largely a response to the worsening prospects of the group. In the short term, the pressure on the Islamic State finances could make even more dangerous and unpredictable the group. “The Islamic State still runs 60 percent of the oil fields in Syria and 5 percent in Iraq. These resources continue to provide them a huge economic flow, but that amount of money is immediately spent in ensuring a combatant army always in action”.
In 2015, the group managed to earn half a billion dollars with the only oil sales to buyers in Turkey and Syria. No clear data on US sales. It should be noted that till the Paris attacks of last November, Obama vetoed any raid on oil facilities in order to protect his “business”.
“Since the beginning of the Russian campaign, the production of oil by the Islamic State collapsed. The Caliphate has lost both its refining capacity as well as easy access to its dealers for the black market in Syria, Turkey and USA. The terrorist group is increasingly dependent on money collecting from the local population in the towns and villages which still controls. Since 2014, the Islamic State has taken hundreds of millions of dollars from Iraqis and Syrians through an elaborate system of taxes and duties” without provide any service.
Another blow to the economy of the Islamic state was settled last year, when the Iraqi government decided to suspend the payment of salaries to thousands of public employees in Mosul and other cities under the control of ISIS.
Source: Il Giornale