An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir April 2016 www.dfmagazine.ie 20 | by PAUL O'BRIEN Kit, weapons, transport and fuel are the basic necessities for an armed force in the field and depending on size of the army, its area of operations, and the kit required, the cost sheet will vary. Western governments budget for their armed forces and have to go to their respective assemblies or parliaments to request additional funding for anything outside of their normal budgetary requirements. The monies granted are collected through taxation and the allotted military funding is distributed throughout the various units. So, where is ISIS's funding coming from? Natural resources can be sold to raise money and oil is the black gold of the Jihadis, with lines of fuel tankers stretching for miles waiting in line at IS-held oilfields such as that on the outskirts of al-Omar. This is just one part of a network of oil fields that are producing this valuable commod- ity for ISIS. According to the Irish Times: 'Estimates by local traders and engineers put crude production in ISIS held territory at about 34,000-40,000 barrels per day. The oil is sold at the wellhead for between $20 and $45 a barrel, earning the militants an average of $1.5m a day.' Independent journalist, Ahmad Mhidi, working in the region, has discovered an elaborate set-up that even though it is in a war zone is functioning efficiently and returning profits. The supply and sale of oil is a very lucrative business and those purchasing it from ISIS can make considerably more profit than they could if they bought it legitimately from registered oil refineries. F ighters of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have, in recent months, swept through northern Syria and parts of Iraq, ousting the Syrian army from a number of key positions. An aerial bombing campaign has stopped their onslaught but the group is still fighting and holding the ground that it has taken and fierce fighting is continuing on a daily basis in towns and cit- ies. Even making use of captured transports and weapons, wars cost money, and financing its relentless war against its adversaries is costing the insurgent group billions of dollars. Iraqi Shiite militia fighters hold the Islamic State flag as they celebrate after breaking the siege of Amerli, 1st September 2014. Photo: Reuters/Youssef Boudlal

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