Iraq: Video Feature: Targeting ISIS’ Black-Market Oil Trade

Dec 1, 2014 | Emily B. Hager, New York Times
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Along the border between Iraq and Turkey, guards are keeping a watchful eye out for oil smugglers. Oil from the Islamic State’s territories feeds an estimated $1 million a day into the organization’s coffers and is an essential part of its financing.The smuggling routes are decades old, and corruption – in the oil fields, along the pipelines and across borders – provides significant economic incentives for many.But American-led airstrikes on Islamic State-controlled oil refineries are taking a toll on the organization.