An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 21 Early on, insurgent commanders identified the oil industry as a way of funding their proposed caliphate and made plans accord- ingly. Having created a foothold in the east of Syria, they pushed on, seizing control of Mosul in northern Iraq, which gave it access to the oil fields of Ajil and Allas. Engineers were put to work im- mediately and ISIS oil was on the market. Reports from the regions say that a well organised unit began securing the sites, extracting and barrelling the oil and shipping it to its various destinations. The logistical plan was well orchestrated, as can be seen in satellite footage of hundreds of oil trucks arriving and departing the various fields. ISIS has set up a complex, sprawling operation and distri- bution network that has expanded in the last eighteen months, despite international forces targeting their installations in a series of air strikes. Many insurgent organisations throughout the world, such as al-Qaeda, have depended on funding from wealthy benefactors. However, ISIS has tapped into the global oil market and many in the region are willing to purchase their oil at knock-down prices, without asking where it originated from or how many died during ISIS's gaining of control of the resource. A US Special Forces raid in May 2015 killed Abu Sayyaf, a leading figure in the organisation's oil production strategy, and retrieved documentation detailing account information and refining targets and other materials relating to the group's activities were cap- tured. These gave the US a clear and detailed picture of how ISIS is funding its campaign. They also revealed that while many districts are controlled via local administrators or regional governors, the oil production is controlled by a central command that monitors the production facilities and closely accounts for its output. This is similar to their control over their sophisticated media networks, with highly trained operatives utilising the internet and social media for their cause. Although the jihadi group's destruction of a number of world heritage sites in the region has made the headlines, with explosive devices destroying thousands of years of history in seconds, the insurgents have also utilised the black-market trade in antiqui- ties to sell items of historical interest to a number of sources. This despicable act is depleting the region's rich and vibrant history that dates back millennia. As the money raised by selling these items is used for acquiring weapons and equipment, the buyers of these artefacts are just as guilty of trading in death as those who purchased the 'blood diamonds' of cen- tral Africa. International opponents of ISIS have adopted a two- pronged approach to the situation, with bombing raids on ISIS-held oil fields and installations while intelligence agencies are targeting those that profit from dealing with the terror group. Those fight- ing ISIS hope that these tactics will increase pressure on the group and curtail the fuelling of its war. French military patrol near the Eiffel Tower the day after a series of deadly attacks in Paris 14th November 2015. Photo: Reuters/Yves Herman ISIS Map. © IHS Conflict Monitor, 2015

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