The old zone of Mosul city. Photo by: museebfoto
ISIS Funding There are reportedly approximately 1,000 diverse rebel groups fighting Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime.8 With so many groups vying for a seemingly finite level of resources, how is it that ISIS is now considered one of the richest if not the richest terrorist group in the region? Historically, Persian Gulf donors, primarily from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar supported ISIS and other groups fighting against the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. These same donors continue to send funds to Syria to the various Sunni extremist groups including ISIS, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda called the alNusra Front, and other Islamic groups fighting on the ground in Syria, because the donors feel an obligation to protect Sunnis suffering under the atrocities of the Assad regime.9 Kuwait has emerged as the primary pipeline for all Gulf-origin financial donations to Syria. According to a
56 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2014
Ruined buildings. Mosul. Photo by: was Riverwood124