The Islamic State is now betting on drugs to finance itself. The pro-ISIS militiamen, following the growing difficulties in extorting the local population, ally with criminal groups to provide Fentanyl and Captagon and guarantee them protection

the pro-ISIS militias in Iraq, in difficulty due to the continuous ISF raids, have adopted a new financing system that adds to the extortion of the local population: drug trafficking. They did so by signing alliances with local and transnational criminal groups, to which they guarantee protection and support in exchange for a share of the profits. They also supply large quantities of Fentanyl and Captagon, for retail sale. Methamphetamines, on the other hand, are produced in the south of the Middle Eastern country, on the border with Iran. In fact, drug smuggling into the nation has recently boomed. At the same time, the groups that manage it have changed their modus operandi, becoming much more aggressive than in the past, thanks to the alliance with the Islamic State.