Islamic State of Beggars and Extorters: Daesh Starts Fundraiser in Mosul

According to Iraqi media reports, Daesh forces in Mosul have been forcing the local population they are already using as a huge human shield to donate money to support their cause.

Iraqi News, citing local Iraqi media, reports that Daesh in Mosul has launched a large fundraising campaign to support the "Caliphate State" and are compelling Mosul residents to "donate."

"The donations were coerced through threats of violence or severe pressure," Iraqi News said, citing an Alsumaria TV channel report that also commented that "significant rejection and resentment rose among the residents."

The Daesh jihadist group is currently in severe financial crisis due to the loss of many of its funding resources, including, first and foremost, its oil trade in Syria.

In addition to taking their money, Daesh militants are reportedly using the citizens of Mosul as a human shield against an all-out air and ground assault, with a city-wide gas attack thought to be one possible scenario if the jihadists get desperate.

In the meantime, local people in Iraq have started a totally different kind of donation campaign: a number of teachers from Sulaimani, a city in the autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq, joined by at least 50 employees of the local airport, have donated blood for the Kurdish Peshmerga forces who are battling Daesh in Mosul right now, according to the local NRT news outlet.

One blood donor told NRT the campaign would last seven days, starting from Saturday.