ISIS stole
around 23 human organs of its dead and injured members in the Iraqi
province of Nineveh for the purpose of trafficking after airstrikes left
the organisation in desperate need of cash. A source on the ground told Iraqi News
on Sunday that in order to acquire quick finances to stay afloat the
militant group has resorted to dismembering its deceased and injured
assailants.
'Special
medical unit of the organization proceeded to steal human organs for
about 23 ISIS militants of those who slept in the hospitals of Nineveh,'
the source said.
'What has
been stolen from those members included the kidneys, intestines and
more; they were transferred under tight control to affiliated hospital
on the outskirts of the city. '
The
source, who has asked to remain anonymous for their own safety, said
the terror faction started to dismember its members after increased air
strikes from the US and Russian forces wiped out a number of its oil
reserves-the main source of revenue for ISIS.
'This
came after the loss of the majority of sources of financial funding,
particularly with regard to crude oil, which it provides about 80% of
the imports of the terrorist organization,' the source added.
Findings
from a US-based analysis firm, HIS, revealed earlier this year that the
group's daily oil output has dropped from 33,000 barrels to 21,000
barrels.
Its
revenue was hovering around $80 million per month but that fell to $56
million in March after chunks of their territory was bombed and seized
in raids.
'Islamic
State is still a force in the region, but this drop in revenue is a
significant figure and will increase the challenge for the group to run
its territory in the long term,' IHS senior analyst Ludovico Carlino
said in a report.
The
terrorist organization has also lost about 22 percent of its territory
since the middle of 2014. This means now around 6 million people are
under the the group's rule, as oppose to 9 million two years ago,
leading to a substantial loss in taxes.
A report
by al-Monitor news website, citing an Iraqi ear, nose and throat doctor
named Siruwan al-Mosuli, said the group started to engage in organ
trafficking back in 2014
The report
went on: 'Surgeries take place within a hospital and organs are quickly
transported through networks specialized in trafficking human organs.
Mosuli said that the organs come from fallen fighters who were quickly
transported to the hospital, injured people who were abandoned or
individuals who were kidnapped.'
Most
of the organs are then smuggled out of Syria and Iraq into neighboring
countries like Saudi Arabia or Turkey where criminal gangs sell them on
to shady buyers across the globe, the Assyrian International News Agency
reported.