A financial crisis has broken out in the terrorist group “Islamic State” (the activities of this organization are prohibited in Russia and in a number of other countries). this on Sunday, April 3, The Washington Post reported citing representatives of American counter-terrorism organizations.

The newspaper writes that for the first time, US officials see a lack of financial resources among the leadership of the Islamic State. There is information about conflicts among the group's senior command on charges of corruption, mismanagement and theft.

Cash shortages have already forced Islamic State to halve payments to Iraqi and Syrian recruits. Reports from defectors indicate that some of the group's military units have not been paid for months. Civilians and businesses operating in territory controlled by the Islamic State are complaining about ever-increasing taxes and other fees. The Washington Post concludes that in this way the leadership of the terrorist organization is trying to compensate for the lack of financial resources.

The publication's interlocutors link the group's economic problems to the ongoing coalition led by the United States, an operation aimed at destroying the financial infrastructure of the Islamic State and including attacks on oil facilities, as well as banks and currency vaults.

Sources of The Washington Post claim that airstrikes on oil fields, oil refining facilities, and transport infrastructure reduced oil production in the territories controlled by the group by about a third, and income from the militants’ oil business decreased by 50%. The newspaper points out that this was also facilitated by the decline in world oil prices and problems with the production of petroleum products.

“For the first time there is some optimism. I do think we've had a significant impact [on the Islamic State's financial infrastructure],” said Daniel Glaser, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Counter-Terrorism Financing. “They [the militants] are still getting a lot of money, we have a lot of work ahead of us,” he added.

Also, the economic base of the terrorist group is undermined by a significant reduction in the territories under its control. Due to military defeats, the Islamic State lost about 40% of its territory last year. Now terrorists control a significantly smaller population, which serves as an additional source of income for the group. Unlike Al-Qaeda (the activities of this organization are prohibited in Russia and in a number of other countries), which relies on external sponsors, the Islamic State receives a large share of income from local sources, through the exploitation of the population, from criminal business, and also through taxes and other fees imposed on the population and enterprises.

Some experts, writes The Washington Post, believe that the recent terrorist attacks in Europe were a response to the worsening financial situation of the group “at home.” In the short term, they say, continued pressure on the Islamic State's financial sources could make the organization more dangerous and unpredictable. "You've cornered a wild animal, and it's going to lash out," says Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP).

Counter-terrorism officials say there is little evidence of serious financial and material support from the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq for the terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels. The group also provides little, if any, financial assistance to its affiliates in the Middle East and South Asia.

Several months ago, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced a reduction in payments to Islamic State militants, writes Interfax . On February 1, Major General Igor Konashenkov said that due to a significant decrease in financial revenues from the illegal sale of oil, the group’s leadership reduced cash payments to militants by a third, which led to significant problems in replenishing and forming new units.

In mid-February, American authorities reported the same thing. Glaser spoke about this at the time at a meeting of two leading financial intelligence groups fighting the Islamic State - the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the US-Italian-Saudi Arabian Counter-Financing Group (CIFG). ). “The participants noted that we are already seeing significant progress in countering the Islamic State. This can be seen from the data that the Islamic State is having difficulty paying its own fighters in some regions, as well as providing basic services to the local population,” Glazer said ( quoted by RIA Novosti).

The Washington Post reported on the financial crisis in the Islamic State