How Does ISIS Fund Itself?

Late last week, RAF warplanes launched their first bombing raids on Syria, targeting the Omar oilfield in the eastern part of the country. The extensive oil infrastructure across Syria and Iraq has made the so-called Islamic State one of the richest terrorist organisations in history, providing the group with an estimated $500 million every year, according to a recent Bloomberg report.

Kidnap and ransom bring in an estimated $45 million each year while foreign donations are worth approximately $5 million. One of the so-called Islamic State's most important resources is seldom mentioned and that's farmland. Fertile agricultural territory controlled by the group across Syria and Iraq could potentially generate over $200 million every year, according to a Thomson Reuters report.