Oil is not the only way that the Islamic State (IS) now funds its terrorist operation, Pentagon spokesperson Rear Admiral John Kirby said during a press briefing on Tuesday, Sputnik News reported.
Pentagon says oil revenue is no longer the lead source for IS
STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 4, ARTSAKHPRESS: "We know that oil revenue is no longer the lead source of their [the Islamic State's] income in dollars. So, they are changing," Kirby said.
Kirby admitted that he was unsure was no longer the top IS revenue source, but that donations and the group's "black market program" were likely new ways the terrorist organizations was relying on funding.
While the US-led international coalition of over 60 continues conducted 14 airstrikes against IS in Syria and Iraq on Monday and Tuesday, in recent days the group has also released video footage of them executing hostages from Jordan and Japan.
The Islamic State (IS) decision to murder Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh by setting him on fire will eventually be a setback for the terrorist organization, the Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said.
“I do think that this will be a setback eventually,” Kirby said on Tuesday. “Regionally it will backfire on them.”
Kirby added that the murder of the Jordanian hostage might possibly attract some disenfranchised young men to the cause, but that is not the behavior of a winner.
“I think that they believe that there is propaganda value in not only doing this, but videotaping it and posting it online,” Kirby said.
