Self-Funded And Deep-Rooted: How ISIS Makes Its Millions -- CNN

Besaslan, Turkey (CNN) -- On the southern edge of Turkey, rolling brown pastoral hills slope gently to the Syrian border, with small towns like this one dotting the horizon. The calm on this side of the border, however, belies the scene on the other side.

Just across the border in northern Syria, the Islamic extremist group known as ISIS is fighting a full-tilt battle in its effort to capture and control new territory, part of its push to create a sprawling Islamic caliphate, or separate Islamic state, modeled on the first caliphate that spread across the region in the centuries following the death of the Prophet Muhammad around 640 AD.

As ISIS fighters expand their control, it is in the border region, in villages like Besaslan, where the Islamic State group can make some of the money it needs to finance its wars. Oil-smuggling operations involving millions of barrels have recently been uncovered.

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My Comment: I concur with the comment that the Islamic State is funded on a level that no other terror group can even come close to matching. I am also in agreement with the analysis that airstrikes alone are not going to stop this funding machine .... you will need boots on the ground to take back territory and to kick-out/kill/arrest those who are collecting money for this organization. Unfortunately .... I do not see that happening in the near future.