PETALING JAYA: Forget ideals and ideology, the militant movement in Iraq and Syria is all about money. Sitting on a pile of more than US$2bil (RM6.35bil) and having seized one of the largest oil wells in the region, the militants are even selling oil to the very people that they are fighting against.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), now renamed the Islamic State, has become the most affluent militant group in the world.

International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) political science lecturer Dr Ishtiaq Hossain said Isil is believed to be running a well-oiled cash-churning machine with profit gushing in from a multitude of sectors to keep the expanding operations running.

“Different figures are being quoted over how much Isil currently has, but most sources say the group is worth between one and two billion dollars,” he said.

Ishtiaq, however, stressed that the touted finances remained speculative, as concrete evidence of its assets could not be obtained.

Isil, estimated by the international media to have about 10,000 to 15,000 fighters, needs strong financial backing to proceed with its goal of conquering the areas around Iraq and Syria.

The group is now earning money from oil fields and power plants which it took control in Iraq and Syria.

Ishtiaq said Isil is also alleged to have been receiving funds from private Gulf Arab donors.

Among the largest and most lucrative oil fields under the control of Isil are Iraq’s Ujil oil field, in the northern province of Salah al-Din and Syria’s al-Omar field in the east of the country, which the militants seized on July 3.

Isil took over the Ujil field last month and is believed to be selling the oil to private buyers, and to the very same Shia-ruling Syrian government that it is fighting to overthrow.

To continue its fight, Isil has gathered a large stock of arms, ammunition and military equipment including United States’ armoured vehicles taken as spoils of war from the American-trained Iraqi army.

“Some members of the Iraqi military who abandoned their positions also left Humvees and arms when they withdrew from Mosul and other areas,” said Ishtiaq.

He said the group might have also bought weapons from international markets.

Other areas of revenue for the group include kidnapping, extortion and raids.

“They have been known to carry out criminal activities such as smuggling. They also impose tolls on trucks carrying goods. Taxes are also imposed, especially on minorities,” said Ishtiaq.

He said Christians in Syria were threatened with crucifixions if they did not pay additional levies.

A June 10 heist from the Mosul central bank in Northern Iraq also brought in US$425mil (RM1.35bil). The looting of money and large amounts of gold bullion from various other banks across Iraq have contributed significantly to Isil’s wealth.

Pointing out that not all soldiers in Iraq were Isil-aligned, Ishtiaq said the numbers published must be taken with a pinch of salt.

“Those fighting in Iraq are also local Sunni rebels and tribesmen. Sometimes, they are grouped together as nobody knows for sure who are fighting for Isil and who are not,” he said.

A significant number of Isil fighters are foreigners, and about a thousand have gone to Syria and Iraq from Europe and elsewhere.

Ishtiaq said he was doubtful about the Islamic State’s ability to sustain its finances in future.

“Reports have surfaced that Isil is now beginning to pay their soldiers in small amounts. Expenditure goes up every day. They have to have more arms, and if they want to pay soldiers on a regular basis, there needs to be continuous income,”

“They are occupying rich areas but many experts say this is not sustainable.

“There is the question of how long it will take for Iraqi forces to regroup and for international help to arrive,” he said.

However, setting up a state in itself also requires a large sum of money.

“If they really want to expand their activities, they need more money. Regular modern states gain income mainly from taxation but I’m not sure that Isil can manage that as the situation right now is very fluid,”

“So, they depend on extortion and illegal taxation. Economically, this is not viable,” Istiaq said.

Despite this, Ishtiaq said Isil’s expansion was a dangerous development, “worse than when the Taliban came into power in Afghanistan,” as its ability to influence and challenge others through a state system was stronger.

In February 2014, al-Qaeda officially severed its affiliations with the group.

It was speculated that Isil’s radical approach discomforted even al-Qaeda militants.

Isil is also known interchangeably in international media as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams (Isis). Shams refers to either the greater Levant, or Syria.

On June 29, Isil officially renamed itself the Islamic State, elevating its leader Abu Bakar Al-Baghdadi as caliph and claiming its new caliphate as the area extending between two nations from Diyala in Iraq to Aleppo in Syria.

Their end goal of the caliphate is to rule over all Muslims worldwide.