world’s richest terrorist organization just got richer.
A video uploaded onto the internet and translated by MEMRI shows Islamic State (IS) fighters parading a haul of millions of dollars and several gold ingots seized from the home of a prominent Iraqi official in Nineveh Province.
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The treasure trove was found in the home of Osama al-Nujayfi, the former speaker of Iraq’s parliament; in the video an IS fighter estimated its value in “the billions”.
Whatever the precise amount, it’s certainly a coup for the jihadi group which has swept through Iraq and northern Syria and is believed to be largely self-sufficient financially.
Much of its wealth is accumulated through organized crime rings or the sale of oil on the black market – but a lot is also brought in a booty from the battlefield.