Air strikes hit ‘hundreds of millions’ in Daesh cash — US

WASHINGTON — A series of US air strikes in recent months have destroyed "hundreds of millions" of dollars in Daesh cash as part of a broader campaign aimed at squeezing the extremist group's financial power, a US military spokesman said Wednesday.

Col. Steve Warren, speaking for the coalition that is fighting the Daesh terror group in Iraq and Syria, said the effort — which has included air strikes against oil processing and distribution facilities mainly in Syria — has forced Daesh to adjust by reducing salaries for its fighters.

The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that Daesh is having a hard time meeting expenses. It reported that the group has slashed salaries across the region, asked residents of Raqqa, its de facto capital in Syria, to pay utility bills in black-market American dollars, and is now releasing detainees for a price of $500 a person.

Warren said that in some cases Daesh has reduced salaries to fighters by as much as 50 per cent.

"This, to us, is one indicator that these strikes against their ability to generate revenue are beginning to squeeze them a little bit," he said.

Warren had previously estimated that strikes against Daesh cash holdings had eliminated tens of millions of dollars. On Wednesday, he said the latest estimate is hundreds of millions, but he would not offer a more specific total.

Of a total of 10 US air strikes against Daesh cash holdings since October, seven have been in Iraq and three in Syria. The first was October 21, followed by other single strikes on November 14, December 16, January 11 and January 18. The campaign was intensified last weekend with a series of five air strikes near Mosul, in northern Iraq, hitting what Warren described as two Daesh financial distribution centres and two financial storage centres.

Separately, the Pentagon said Wednesday that the air campaign against Daesh has cost a total of $6.2 billion since it began in August 2014. The daily cost is now averaging $11.5 million.