Two years after losing its last territory in Iraq, the Islamic State is now rapidly growing a new and more sophisticated presence in the country, intelligence officials told BBC News Monday.
According to Lahur Talabany, a top Kurdish counterterrorism official, the ISIS militants have also now become more skilled and more dangerous than al Qaeda.
“They have better techniques, better tactics, and a lot more finances at their disposal,” he said. “They are able to buy vehicles, weapons, food supplies and equipment … technologically they’re more savvy. It’s more difficult to flush them out. So, they are like al Qaeda on steroids.”
Talabany, who is head of the Zanyari Agency, one of two intelligence agencies in Iraqi Kurdistan, said he is not sure where exactly the terrorist organization’s treasure trove of money has come from but that ISIS seems to have “a lot more money than al Qaeda had in the old days.” – READ MORE
