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Daesh demands extortion money from Iraqis willing to leave Fallujah

Wednesday, 10 February 2016 11:20 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 14 February 2016 12:46 PM ]

This file photo shows Takfiri Daesh terrorists in Iraq’s Anbar Province.

The Takfiri Daesh terrorist group has announced that the residents of the central Iraqi city of Fallujah in Anbar Province must pay USD 1,000 in extorted money if they want to leave the terrorist-held city.

Local Iraqi media reported on Wednesday that the terror group intends to force people to stay in Fallujah by adopting the extortion method as an Iraqi army offensive to liberate the city is looming.

Fallujah became the focus of the anti-Daesh battle after Iraqis liberated Anbar’s provincial capital of Ramadi in December 2015.

The Iraqi military says control over Fallujah could pave the way for a final push to flush the terrorists out of the major city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh Province, which was overtaken by Daesh in the summer of 2014.

In a separate development on Tuesday, 12 Daesh elements were killed after the Iraqi army artillery and gunships bombarded their positions in the Saqlawiyah area, just north of Fallujah.

Iraqi forces stand on their armored vehicles on the outskirts of the city of Ramadi, February 8, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Daesh’s main source of income is the sale of oil extracted from the fields it has captured since 2014. Reports say the Takfiris control several oil fields in northern Iraq as well as Syria’s Raqqah Province.

Daesh also finances its acts of terror through drug trafficking, the sale of antiquities, and ransom from abductions. Furthermore, reports indicate that wealthy individuals in the Persian Gulf region have raised major funds for the terror group.

A UN report published in November 2014 said that Daesh makes approximately USD 96,000 to USD 123,000 per day from ransom payments.

The UN Security Council adopted a Russian-drafted resolution in February last year in a bid to cut funding to Daesh, the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front based in Syria and other al-Qaeda-linked groups.

The Takfiri terrorists, who have seized swathes of land in Iraq and Syria, have also extended their terror activities to other countries, including Libya. They are engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control.

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