Turkey's Jarablus operation deals major blow to ISIL revenues

Turkey's Euphrates Shield operation into Syria has delivered a major blow to the revenues of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), or DAESH, according to a report by the London-based International Center for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR) and leading consultant group Ernst and Young (EY). The report titled "Caliphate in Decline: An Estimate of Islamic State's Financial Fortunes" was published during the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 17-19.

The report states that the loss of populated centers, "alongside key transit points in Syria such as Jarablus, meant that taxation revenue in 2016 decreased to $200-400 million" from a level of "$400-800 million in 2015."

The ISIL-held Syrian town of Jarablus by the Turkish border was captured by the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces, supported by Turkish forces, on Aug. 24, 2016, on the first day of the Euphrates Shield operation by the Turkish military into Syria. The operation cut ISIL's contact with the Turkish border, while largely clearing ISIL militants from the town of Dabiq (which has symbolic importance for ISIL due to its apocalyptic place in Islamic belief, where the armies of the Mehdi, or Messiah, will have the final battle with the armies of the Anti-Christ) and the key transport town of al-Bab. So far, 68 Turkish soldiers have been killed in ISIL attacks in Syria in order to clear more than 1,900 square kilometers from their control. The Turkish authorities say the aim was to clear at least 5,000 square kilometers, which could later be used as a safe zone for refugees and the training of "moderate rebel forces," if internationally accepted.

According to the report, ISIL's "most significant sources of revenue are closely...