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The Islamist hate group is haemorrhaging cash and cannot raise more through taxation because of the plummeting population in its so-called Caliphate. Its coffers have also been hit by the chaos gripping its previously slick social media operation following the death of the jihadis' technical mastermind in a US drone strike. The revelations come after Express.co.uk revealed how desperate ISIS fighters have released a whining film questioning why people are fleeing Syria and Iraq to Europe and begging them to return.

Now sources from within the hate group's territories have revealed how cash-flow problems mean it is struggling to keep the promises it has made to lure western jihadis to its cause. There is also a widening gap between ISIS fighters and the population living under them, who are becoming increasingly rebellious as the effects of extreme poverty begin to set in. Jihadi commanders are spending more money on weapons than on feeding their own people, but allied airstrikes and falling oil prices have decimated the so-called Caliphate's economy.

PA ISIS is spending more money on soldiers than on its own people

IG This map reveals ISIS' chilling plans for world domination

It is also suffering a 'brain drain' because the most skilled workers, including doctors and oil workers, have already fled. Well-placed sources told American magazine Newsweek that there has been a "steady departure of professionals" from the so-called Caliphate. At the same time the cost of basic supplies in ISIS's de facto capital Mosul has rocketed, driving many of its inhabitants into crushing poverty. And the cash flow from foreign donors is thought to have dried up following the death of British jihadi Junaid Hussain in a US drone strike last month. American intelligence sources have revealed that ISIS's online activity has fallen through the floor since its technical mastermind Hussain - known by the nomme de guerre Abu Hussain al-Britaini - was blown up along with his two bodyguards. Hussain had masterminded a complex programme of recruitment, hacking and online scams which raised much-needed cash for the terrorist group.

As a result ISIS is trying to turn to taxation to raise cash, but the eight million impoverished people who remain in its lands are unable to pay, whilst millions others have left with their money for a new life in Europe. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a counterterrorism analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said: "The people who have highly desirable skill sets like doctors are fleeing. The oil industry is another area where they haven't preserved the level of talent that they need."

He added: "If people are leaving because of ISIS’ inability to provide basic governance, that calls their legitimacy into question." Sayf Saeed, a dental student who escaped Mosul for the Iraqi capital Baghdad in June, revealed how the price of fuel in Mosul has jumped from 30 cents a litre to two dollars since ISIS took control. He said the city's people are suffering crushing poverty, adding: "The only relief kitchen is run by locals. Every day there's a line round the block. They give out one meal a day to the starving."

AP People are starving in the ISIS held city of Mosul in Iraq

REUTERS ISIS is losing money because refugees are fleeing to Europe

The non-profit Rand Corporation estimated that ISIS earned £920million in 2014, but nearly half of that was one-time money that came from robbing Iraqi banks. It is thought that the salaries of its fighters alone are costing the group around £236m a year. Experts have predicted that ISIS will have an increasing problem funding its terrorist operations as more and more people flee its lands and tax revenues dry up. As a result it may turn increasingly to encouraging lone-wolf attacks in other nations, with Malaysia this week raising its threat level over fears of an ISIS inspired attack.

The fight against ISIS Fri, November 18, 2016 The battle against ISIS militants (also abbreviated as Daesh, ISIL, IS and Islamic State) continues in the Middle East. Play slideshow Getty 1 of 183 Forces battle against ISIS