MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The raid was conducted in eastern Syria last month. Pentagon claimed that Abu Sayyaf, a senior ISIL commander who was overseeing the militants’ illicit oil and gas operations, was killed during the raid. His wife Umm was captured by US forces.
U.S. Air Force intel has used @twitter against ISIS to track down Islamic State militants http://t.co/xLDzQWyQD8 pic.twitter.com/W8T9iTFADu
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 7, 2015
The New York Times cited American officials as saying on Monday that the four to seven terabytes of data gathered from the laptops and cellphones of ISIL radicals in the course of the operation revealed how the militants’ commanders try to avoid being tracked by US-led coalition forces.
PHOTOS: Syrians flee clashes between Islamic State and Kurdish fighters. http://t.co/Joey5HbP7s pic.twitter.com/uzzzGXdhiv
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) June 5, 2015
Islamic State leaders leave their cellphones and other electronic devices behind when traveling by car, the officials said. Their wives pass information to one another and then to their spouses to avoid electronic interception.
The raid-gathered data also revealed that ISIL uses half of its revenue from illicit oil production to maintain its operating budget. The other half is used to maintain the production facilities and to pay salaries to workers, hired by the group, according to US officials cited by The New York Times.
The newspaper said that the officials expressed doubt about how effectively this new information can be used against ISIL taking into account the group’s overall secrecy and ability to adapt.
The Islamic State, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), is a radical Sunni group that has seized vast territories across Syria and Iraq, gaining notoriety for its brutal methods, including mass executions.
A US-led coalition of some 60 nations has been carrying out airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria since September 2014.
ISIL affiliates have also launched several terror attacks in Europe.
