Recession hits IS as fighters' salaries slashed in half

The Islamic State militant group has cut its fighters' monthly salaries by 50 percent, citing "exceptional circumstances", a statement published on Wednesday said. 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights - which relies on a network of activists, medics and fighters across Syria for information on IS - published what it said was an official statement from the militant group announcing the cuts.

“Because of the exceptional circumstances that the Islamic State is passing through, a decision was taken to cut the salaries of the mujahedeen in half,” the Arabic statement said, referring to IS fighters.

“No one will be exempt from this decision no matter his position, but the distribution of food assistance will continue twice a month as usual,” it said.

The group, which controls swathes of territories across Syria and Iraq, declared a self-styled caliphate in the summer of 2014, imposing its harsh interpretation of Islamic law.

A US-led coalition began targeting the group with air strikes shortly after.

IS controls several oil fields but it is believed that the air strikes have damaged revenues and the oil infrastructure that it relies upon. Last week, the coalition also bombed an IS bank where the group had been stashing millions of US dollars. 

Take that to the bank

Colonel Steve Warren, a Baghdad-based spokesman for the US-led coalition, said nine strikes in Iraq and Syria in recent months had led to the destruction of "tens of millions" of dollars of IS reserves.

"Striking these cash collection points hurts this enemy," Warren said on Wednesday. "They operate on cash; there is no credit in IS."

The US military has released videos of air strikes on what it says are cash-collection facilities. In a video of an attack on a building in Mosul earlier this month, vast plumes of what appears to be money can be seen fluttering into the sky following a huge blast.

According to Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman, the salary cuts meant Syrian IS fighters would see their salaries drop to about $200 a month.

Foreign fighters, who were paid double the Syrian militants, would have their monthly income reduced to $400, Abdel Rahman told AFP.

The militant group strives to show that it operates a fully fledged state, with government institutions, hospitals and schools. But as the military effort against the group has been stepped up, they appear to have begun to feel the pressure.  

However, a new UN report that cited the number of civilians IS killed in Iraq over the past two years, also documented cases where the group executed suspects among its own ranks.

“It has started executing a lot of its own people, whether because they are fleeing from the front line or are suspected of other things,” a UN source said. “And its abduction of children does make it look as if it is desperate to have enough fighters.”

“The murders were frequently conducted in public spaces. [IS] displayed the bodies of its own members whom it had murdered as a deterrent to other members who might consider disobeying orders or otherwise acting against its interests,” the source continued.

The exact numbers of IS fighters killed by their own group is difficult to verify. While the UN estimated that almost 19,000 civilians were killed in Iraq since 2014, the casualties are more likely to be much higher, as the report did not factor in those who died as a result of lack of medication, food and water in areas beseiged by IS.

The New York-based Soufan group estimated that between 27,000 and 31,000 foreign fighters have flocked to Syria from 86 countries. Most of them join IS, the Syrian al-Qaeda affiliate Nusra Front, or the Syrian Islamist Ahrar al-Sham group.