Study Finds That ISIS Is Rapidly Running out of Money

It seems like yesterday that ISIS appeared to be an unstoppable juggernaut. Just a few years ago, the terror organization swept through city after city in Syria and Iraq, taking slaves and scattering armies along the way. Now it appears that ISIS’ dream of an Islamic caliphate is finally being brushed into the ash heap of history where it belongs.

According to a recent study by the International Center for the Study of Radicalization, ISIS’ profits have plummeted by 55% since the peak of their power in 2014. Their profits, which mainly include oil revenues, taxes, and fines (but also include revenue from looting, selling antiquities, kidnapping, slavery, and donations) has fallen from $1.9 billion per year to $870 million. That is because ISIS has lost 62% of its territory in Iraq, and 30% of its territory in Syria since 2014.

According to the study, they haven’t been able to secure any new streams of income. Furthermore, “There are good reasons to believe that Islamic State revenues will further decline. In particular, capturing Mosul, the Caliphate’s ‘commercial capital,’ will have a significant detrimental effect on Islamic State finances.”

The study admits however, that ISIS may be able to reverse this trend if they manage to break into the opium market. It’s unclear if they will do so since raising opium crops is against their beliefs, but it wouldn’t be the first time that radical Islamists have compromised their core beliefs to stay afloat.