For ISIS, Diversification Of Funding Is Key

Published December 1, 2015 at 1:20 PM EST

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Smoke billows from what is believed to be an oil field which was set alight by Islamic State (IS) group militants in the Mkeishifa area, south of the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit, as government forces, supported by Popular Mobilization units, try to retake the area from Islamist rebels on April 9, 2015. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images)

ISIS may be the richest terrorist organization in the world, according to the U.S. government. It not only uses money to finance terrorist attacks and pay fighters’ salaries, but it also maintains its captured territories, including funding ministries.

Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy tells Here & Now‘s Indira Lakshmanan that ISIS has amassed its wealth from a variety of sources, with the top areas being taxation/extortion and selling oil on the black market.

Guest

Matthew Levitt, director of the Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He tweets @Levitt_Matt.