“ISIS is a huge
financial package to support more 8 million people—which is now the size of the
population living in territories under ISIS control... it is also supporting
tens of thousands of militants who have been at war for months, with new
recruits coming in every day. Yet it keeps all these people answerable to them,
seems to have incredible cross-border mobility and shows no signs right now of
running out of money or fuel.” says Luay al-Khatteeb, visiting fellow of the
Doha Brookings Center and director of the Iraq Energy Institute in Baghdad[1].
Today ISIS controls
an area almost as big as then United Kingdom. Having amassed more than two
billion dollars[2] since its appearance in 2003[3]
it is now the wealthiest terrorist organization. Although, lucrative donations
and private contributions started up ISIS, the group has managed to become self
funded within a couple of years. It has even put in place the beginnings of quasi-state structures - ministries and law courts. This unpresented pace of income
compilation is based on the following
sources of income[4]:
