Two Iraqi newspapers, New Sabah and Iraq Times recently
disclosed new details on how insurgent groups are funding themselves in Ninewa
province. They mentioned traditional means such as charging businesses
protection money and kidnappings, but added information on stealing salaries
from the security forces and charging money for imports. The governorate
capital Mosul is an infamous urban base for the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant (ISIS), but also includes other militant groups such as Ansar al-Sunna,
and the Baathist Jaish Rijal al-Tariqat al-Naqshibandi. Their financial
networks in Ninewa show the close convergence between the insurgency and criminal
organizations.
In March 2014 the Iraq
Times reported on the theft of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi dinars from
the security forces (ISF) in Ninewa. It reported that Interior Ministry forces
in the province were supposed to receive 500,000 dinars a month starting in
October 2013, but only got 250,000. It went on to say that some traffic police
did not receive their full pay until March 2014, and that they sent a letter to
the Finance Ministry demanding an investigation into their missing pay. Three
days later New
Sabah ran an article saying that insurgent groups were receiving these
missing funds by threatening members of the ISF. Militants in the province were
involved in a wide variety of other criminal activity to earn money to carry
out their operations. These included charging royalties on the importation of
electrical goods and food, demanding protection money from businesses that win
contracts to work on projects in dangerous areas of the governorate, extorting money from electrical generator operators and small firms, and
kidnapping people and holding them for ransom. New Sabah claimed that militants
were making up to $8 million a month from these protection rackets. These later
activities are all well known, and have been talked about for years. Niqash for example, ran a
piece in November 2013 about the mafia like tactics ISIS was employing in
Ninewa. This included demanding money not only from businesses, but schools,
mosques, real estate agencies, and universities. Many times when people refused
to pay up they were bombed. New Sabah added that it wasn’t just the Islamic
State that was involved in these activities, but other insurgent groups as
well. These are likely Ansar
al-Sunna and the Naqshibandi that operate in the province.
As the insurgency was beaten back during the Surge and
afterward, many militants moved into criminal activity since they lacked other
skills and were not ready to join regular society. Now that the militants have
made a come back, it’s obvious that these same operatives have expanded their
mafia style techniques into more and more fields in Ninewa to fund their
increased attacks not only there, but in surrounding areas as well. The
government is fully aware of these acts, but has done nothing to stop them.
That’s likely because the insurgents are so embedded in Mosul and the
surrounding areas, and can operate with such impunity that no one dares stand
up to them or face being killed. That’s why the main focus of attacks in the
province is upon the security forces, local officials and businesses to keep
them intimidated so that these extortion rings can continue uninterrupted. It’s
likely that these operations will continue long after the insurgency, because
they are so lucrative.
SOURCES
Iraq Times, “Corruption of
hundreds of millions of dinars in salaries of employees of the local police and
traffic in the province of Nineveh,” 3/12/14
New Sabah, “Armed groups earn
money from imported food..and “royalties” on hot spots up to 8 million dollars
a month,” 3/15/14
Niqash, “making themselves at
home: al qaeda ups mafia-style extortion in mosul,” 11/7/13
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