Money to burn Money to burn

US bombs pile of Islamic State cash in Iraq

Millions of dollars destroyed, says official, after two 2,000-pound bombs dropped on storage facility in Mosul

By Robert Burns 12 January 2016, 8:08 am

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File. An image from a video released by the US Defense Department the American bombing of an Islamic State cash stockpile in Mosul, Iraq on January 11, 2016. (Screen capture: Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A US defense official says American airstrikes are chipping away at the Islamic State group’s cash piles.

An airstrike this week hit what the official called a “cash storage facility” in the city of Mosul, which is the militants’ main stronghold in Iraq.

The official, who was authorized to discuss details only on condition of anonymity, said Monday that two 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) bombs targeted the facility.

The officials said the amount of cash destroyed is believed to be in the millions of dollars, but the exact amount is unknown.

It was at least the second time the US has bombed the Islamic State’s cash stockpiles. Combined with attacking the militants’ oil resources, it is part of an effort to sap their financial strength.