Coalition strikes a blow to Islamic State finances, neutralizes network

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The US-led international coalition against the Islamic State (IS) on Tuesday revealed they had neutralized members that managed and facilitated financial operations for the organization in Syria late last month.

“Four Daesh [IS] members affiliated with the group’s Oil and Gas Network were killed during Coalition operations on May 26 in the Middle Euphrates River Valley of Syria,” read a statement released by the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF–OIR).

The United States’ Department of Defense set up the CJTF–OIR in 2014 in response to IS to coordinate efforts between US military forces and personnel from over 30 countries aiming to “degrade and destroy” the terrorist organization.

The statement named Abu Khattab al-Iraqi as the leader of the network, which has been helping the group stay afloat despite massive territorial losses. He managed the financing of the jihadists’ operations through the illicit sale of oil and gas along with three other members.

According to CJTF–OIR, the deaths are likely to limit IS’s ability to “finance operations throughout Iraq and Syria.”

Small-scale attacks by IS have been on the rise in Iraq since the Oct. 16 ouster of the Peshmerga forces by the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), along with the Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi, in territories contested between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

“With the removal of this network, the ability to pay fighters, procure weapons, and maintain equipment will be degraded.”

In the fight against IS in Syria, the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Sunday that they liberated an IS-held town after a week-long campaign and heavy fighting with the support of French artillery and French Air Force (FAF) warplanes in a final push to drive out the terrorists from the war-torn country’s eastern areas.

Editing by Nadia Riva