[ti:How Do Islamic State Militants Finance Their Operations] [ar:Christopher Cruise] [al:In The News] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, this is In The News. [00:12.67]This week, the United States Congress [00:16.00]approved part of President Barack Obama's plan [00:20.15]to defeat Islamic State militants. [00:23.44]The Senate voted Thursday to equip [00:26.63]and train moderate Syrian rebels [00:30.11]to fight the militant group. [00:32.32]The measure was tied to a bill [00:34.80]that will guarantee money [00:36.76]to pay for U.S. government operations into December. [00:41.83]The vote came a day after the House of Representatives [00:46.60]agreed to help the Syrian rebels [00:49.70]against the Islamic State, [00:52.01]also known as ISIL or ISIS. [00:55.82]The measure represents the only action [01:00.27]U.S. lawmakers are likely to take [01:03.56]before congressional elections in November. [01:06.79]Florida Senator Bill Nelson [01:09.28]is a member of Mr. Obama's Democratic Party. [01:13.49]He compared the effort against the militants [01:16.66]to fighting a wild animal. [01:19.15]"When it comes to Syria -- [01:21.45]and that's where the head of the ISIS snake is -- [01:26.77]if you're going to kill the snake, [01:29.63]you have to go to where the head is and chop it off." [01:34.87]The Islamic State has seized parts of Syria and Iraq. [01:40.16]The Wall Street Journal newspaper says more than [01:44.46]eight million people live [01:46.75]in areas under the group's control. [01:49.78]How do the Islamic State militants get money [01:54.27]to support their operations? [01:56.49]Observers say some money comes from kidnapping, [02:00.28]human trafficking, [02:02.03]and the secret movement of goods across borders. [02:06.93]Other financing reportedly comes as a result of threats [02:12.54]made to local officials and businesses. [02:15.87]But most of the money comes from sales of oil, [02:20.38]often to secret buyers. [02:23.08]U.S. intelligence officials and observers say [02:27.83]the militant group earns [02:29.93]at least one million dollars a day from such sales. [02:34.85]Howard Shatz is with the RAND Corporation, [02:39.18]a public policy group. [02:40.96]He has studied the Islamic State. [02:43.91]In his opinion, [02:45.89]the group is "operating as a state, [02:49.79]but it is a criminal state." [02:52.71]Islamists set their sights on the area's oil industry years ago. [02:59.16]Mr. Shatz says they made threats to employees [03:03.59]at the Beiji oil refinery in northern Iraq. [03:08.33]They reportedly collected about two billion dollars [03:13.19]from the employees between 2006 and 2009. [03:19.40]The Associated Press news agency estimates [03:24.00]that Islamic State forces [03:26.82]controlled 11 oil fields in Iraq and Syria, [03:31.82]as of last weekend. [03:33.58]The United States is using air strikes and political pressure [03:38.63]in hopes of stopping the oil sales. [03:41.91]In Washington, a State Department official [03:45.87]told reporters earlier this month that, [03:49.12]"we believe that oil smuggled out by trucks [03:53.28]through the Jordanian and Turkish borders [03:56.79]is a serious problem." He added that [04:00.91]"both those countries have pledged to do [04:04.63]all they can to stop it." [04:06.88]Observers say recent videos of the Islamic State [04:11.12]executing hostages have more than propaganda value. [04:15.56]They say the images also serve as ransom notes [04:20.58]for other kidnap victims. [04:22.89]The United States and Britain have repeatedly said [04:27.18]they do not make payments [04:30.10]for the release of their citizens. [04:32.76]But some countries do. [04:35.54]Last month, CBS News reported that a European company [04:42.03]"paid a $70,000 ransom for a kidnapped employee." [04:47.65]And that's In The News from VOA Learning English. [04:53.29]I'm Christopher Cruise.