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Alert on IS must continue
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A picture taken in the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus on April 27, 2018 shows smoke billowing in the area during Syrian army shelling and airstrikes. Syrian regime forces advanced against Islamic State group jihadists in the south of Damascus, state media said, after more than a week of bombardment on the area. (AFP/Rami Al Sayed)
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lthough the Islamic State (IS) group has recently lost territory and an estimated 80 percent of its revenue base, the 30 official and semiofficial IS channels and chat rooms still emphasize its longevity and strength.
So far, its sharp territorial decline has also destroyed its ability to collect revenue from oil production and smuggling, taxation, confiscation and other similar activities. Its average monthly income has reportedly dropped from US$81 million in the second quarter of 2015 to only $16 million in the second quarter of 2017.
However, IS still strong in its role and existence on social media and the internet. They broadcast IS’ development efforts to domestic and international audiences, from dam construction, digging wells, building infrastructure, to electrification of villages under IS control, and inoculating children in hospitals.
The scholars Mia Bloom and Chelsea Daymon cautioned in their book last year that the general use of peer-to-peer encrypted messages by IS shows no signs of declining despite early predictions. So far, the IS online platforms mix high-definition graphic audiovisual content with religious-ideological writings to justify violent terrorist tactics.
