Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the revenue available to the ISIL derived from the territory it controls; and if he will make a statement.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)’s main sources of revenue come from oil sales and extortion. Other sources have included foreign donors, kidnap ransom payments, and money stolen during its advances in recent months.

Air strikes targeting oil infrastructure and the liberation of oil fields have significantly reduced ISIL’s ability to access and refine oil.

As part of our strategy to combat ISIL, the UK led work on UN
Security Council Resolution 2170 which was adopted unanimously on 15 August. It condemns ISIL, the al-Nusra front and other terrorist groups listed under Al-Qaeda sanctions. The resolution urges members to take measures to choke ISIL’s sources of finance.

We are working with countries in the Middle East to counter the threat from terrorists and extremists across the region. Combating ISIL and degrading its financial support is a priority and we continue to discuss these issues with our partners, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.