Follow the money

ISIS Funding

Having cemented its status as the Middle East's most feared Islamist militant organisation, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) appear well-equipped to claim another distinction: the world's wealthiest terror group.

In June 2014 ISIS robbed Mousels central bank and came into undreamed of wealth after making off with 500 billion dinars - £256 million, approximately $429 dollars.

The radical group is also said to have made off with a large amount of gold bullion from the bank, which was left unguarded in the chaos accompanying the militants' takeover of the city, which is one of Iraq's main oil centres. However Atheel al-Nujaifi, the governor of Nineveh province, said ISIS members had also seized many more millions from banks across the region and the total figure is likely to be far higher than the headline figure. The newly-acquired booty has elevated it to the world's best-resourced terror organisation.