US-Led Coalition Strikes Islamic State-Controlled Oil Refinery in Iraq

The US-led coalition destroyed parts of the Qayyarah Oil Refinery in Iraq that are under control of the ISIL terrorist group, according to Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve spokesperson Col. Christopher Garver.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US-led coalition against the Islamic State has stuck parts of the Qayyarah Oil Refinery in Iraq that the terrorist group used to acquire illegal oil revenue, Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve spokesperson Col. Christopher Garver said on Friday.

"This airstrike is aimed at reducing Daesh's [Islamic State’s] ability to fund their terrorist activities with oil stolen from the people of Iraq," Garver stated.

The spokesperson explained that the Islamic State terrorists used the Iraqi oil refinery to produce oil and sell it on the black market.

In February, the Pentagon said oil was no longer the main source of funds for the Islamic State’s terrorist operations. US officials said the terrorists are now likely to rely on donations and their "black market program."

The Islamic State has stolen more than 6,500 valuable objects from museums and historic sites on the territories it has captured and sold them abroad. The terrorist group controls large portions of land in Syria and Iraq, and has declared a caliphate there ruled by Sharia law.

The Islamic State is a Sunni terrorist group that began fighting the Syrian government in 2012, and later expanded its operations to Iraq.