Down, not out Islamic State has US$300 million war chest to plot world terror

Islamic State has been left with as much as US$300 million after the loss of its so-called “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria, “with none of the financial demands of controlling territory and population,” Secretary-General António Guterres said in a report.

The report to the Security Council on the threat posed by Isis warns that the lull in attacks directed by the militant group “may be temporary”.

Last week, UN experts said in another report to the council that Isis leaders were aiming to consolidate and create conditions for an “eventual resurgence in its Iraqi and Syrian heartlands”.

It said the current lull in attacks “may not last long, possibly not even until the end of 2019”.

Guterres said in the new report that while the loss of territory ended Islamic State’s ability to generate revenue from oilfields and local people, Isis was believed to be capable of directing funds to support “terrorist acts” within Iraq and Syria and abroad.

It said informal money transfer businesses known as hawaladars were the most common method.