Local Editor
On Wednesday, the international Rai al-Youm newspaper quoted the terrorism expert, Charles Brisard, saying the ISIS group lacks money despite holding assets worth more than $2 trillion.
Charles Brisard, a consultant on business intelligence and expert on terrorist financing, estimated the wealth of the ISIS organization at more than $2 trillion, but added the ISIS militants may lose the war as they do not have enough money to run the entire territory they have seized.
Brisard indicates that the cost to run all aspects of an administration, including paying the militants, schools, hospitals, maintaining roads, water networks and electricity, is far beyond the reach of the ISIS group militants.
He also believes that Iraq’s Sunni tribal leaders are the ones who will decide the fate of ISIS, as happened in 2006 and 2007, when they helped the USA in the fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq. “That means there will probably come a time when the population could turn against the ISIS,” Brisard said.
Noteworthy, ISIS makes about $2.9 billion a year, much of it from selling oil and gas in the black market, and farming projects within the territories it controls, according to the ‘Thompson Reuters’ report.
“About 12 percent of the organization’s total income comes from extortion as ISIS militants receive about $30 million a month, which comes mostly from ransoms,” said the report.
Source: abna.ir
