Mosul Seized: Jihadis Loot $429m from City's Central Bank to Make Isis World's Richest Terror Force
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By
Jack Moore
June 11, 2014 11:12 BST
Nineveh governor Atheel al-Nujaifi confirmed Kurdish televison reports that Isis militants had stolen millions from numerous banks across Mosul. A large quantity of gold bullion is also believed to have been stolen.
Following the siege of the country's second city, the bounty collected by the group has left it richer than al-Qaeda itself and as wealthy as small nations such as Tonga, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and the Falkland Islands.
Richest Terror Factions in the World (as of 2011)The financial assets that Isis now possess are likely to worsen the Iraqi governement's struggle to defeat the insurgency, which is aimed at creating an Islamic state across the Syrian-Iraqi border.
1) Taliban - $70m - $400m
2) Hezbollah $200m - $500m ($120m from Iran)
3) Farc - $80m - $350m
4) Hamas - $70m
5) Al-Shabaab - $70m - 100m
Source: Money Jihad
The Islamist militants took control of Mosul after hundreds of its fighters overwhelmed government military forces in a lightening attack on Monday, forcing up to 500,000 people to flee the city and Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki to call a national state of emergency.
The militants freed up to 1,000 inmates from Mosul's central prison, according to senior police officials. They are also in control of Mosul airport and local television stations.
"The situation remains extremely serious. Senior U.S. officials in both Washington and Baghdad are tracking events closely in coordination with the Government of Iraq," the statement read.
"The United States stands with the Iraqi people," it continued.
The Iraqi government has launched a number of failed assaults on the city leaving hopes of retaking Mosul slim.
An Iraqi army officer told the Independent: "We can't beat them."
"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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several hundred million dollars
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