GONE are the days when the black flag fluttered over a third of Iraq and almost half of Syria. Crushed on the battlefield,Islamic State has lost roughly 98% of its self-proclaimed “caliphate”. Some 70000 of its fighters (who numbered perhaps 100000 at their peak) are thought to enjoy been killed. But thousands enjoy escaped. Some enjoy remained in Iraq and Syria; others enjoy slipped into Turkey or hooked up with IS affiliates in Egypt, Libya and South-East Asia. Around 10000 of the group’s foreign fighters are thought to enjoy left the Middle East.
Those intent on continuing to wage jihad will still enjoy the means. IS has quietly stashed millions of dollars across the region. It has invested in businesses in Iraq, and bought gold in Turkey and continued to transfer money to its affiliates. “You wouldn’t believe the amount of money that has gone out of IS’ territory,” says a former weapons-dealer involved in transferring the jihadists’ cash. An Iraqi legislator estimates that IS smuggled...
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Source: economist.com