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Islamic State stays flush with money regardless of setbacks up to now yr, holding monetary reserves and a spread of income streams that U.S. and Western safety officers warn might pay for a harmful resurgence.
The extremist group and its associates have property ranging into the a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} throughout the Middle East and Central Asia, in accordance with the officers and authorities information reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Islamic State’s grip throughout a big swath of Syria and Iraq was damaged final yr when a army coalition dismantled its caliphate, reducing off a lot of its revenue from oil gross sales, tax-collection and extortion, and the native banks it had seized.
But the group nonetheless extorts native populations in areas it controls or has supporters; receives revenue from companies it seized throughout its rule; and collects funds from human trafficking, U.S. and Western officers say. Its associates command a rising share of illicit tobacco markets in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and donors in a number of Middle Eastern nations work on elevating funds, the officers say.
“The underlying conditions that allowed for the rise of ISIS remain,” Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, in command of U.S. Central Command, mentioned final month. “They continue to aspire to regain control of physical terrain. Without sustained pressure, they have the potential to do so in a relatively short period of time.”
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