Iraq appears to be crumbling into a possible civil war, and sadly, after what occurred in Mosul on Wednesday, things may only get worse. Severe gunmen, who were a part of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), robbed Mosul’s central bank during Wednesday’s chaos, reportedly leaving with 500 billion Iraqi dinars, the equivalent to $425 million.
It is also being reported by the International Business Times that this radical organization stole millions from several other banks across Mosul and also a “large quantity of gold bullion.” The publication declared ISIS the “World’s Richest Terror Force.”
If ISIS is being referred to as the “World’s Richest Terror Force” or the “World’s Richest Terrorist group, let’s compare their finances to that of the Taliban, who reportedly had a one-time annual operating budget of somewhere between $70 million and $400 million. Additionally, Al-Qaeda possessed a $30 million operating budget at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. The money that ISIS now has makes it wealthier than many small nations, including Nauru, Tonga, and the Marshall Islands.
According to regional analyst Brown Moses, “With $425 million, ISIS could pay 60,000 fighters around $600 a month for a year.” The intelligence consultancy Soufan Group states that ISIS has already attracted 12,000 militants from abroad , 3,000 of whom are from the West.
“Iraq is undergoing a difficult stage,” said Iraq Prime Minster Nouri al-Maliki, who called a national state emergency. He urges all members of the government “to confront this vicious attack, which will spare no Iraqi.”
Unfortunately, Iraqi forces already seem defeated.
“We can’t beat them,” an Iraqi officer was quoted saying, regarding ISIS. “They’re trained in street fighting and we’re not. We need a whole army to drive them out of Mosul. They’re like ghosts; they appear to hit and disappear within seconds.”
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