Report: ISIS Lost Its Home, But Economic Empire Stands

ISIS has lost its home, but its economic empire still stands and can fund worldwide violence, The Atlantic reported Sunday.

"What we know is that they accumulated large amounts of cash and other assets," Rand Corporation economist Howard Shatz, an expert on the Islamic State's finances, told The Atlantic. "We don't know where it all went."

President Donald Trump has announced all of the formerly ISIS-controlled land in Syria has been restored, but "the United States and its allies are nowhere close to bringing down the terrorist organization's economic empire," The Atlantic's David Kenner reported.

Experts estimate ISIS has access to hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the report.

The sanctioning of terrorist-linked businesses, denying them access to worldwide banking, are the remaining tools to wage the modern warfare against terrorism.

"The campaign against the group will likely take years, and there is no guarantee of victory," Kenner reports.

Extortion will be one of ISIS's tools to access funds for its homeless terror operations.

"If you lived in ISIS territory, they know where you live, they know much money you make, and they know what your business is," Shatz told The Atlantic. "They can go to a businessman and say, 'You must be very proud of your son. It would be a pity to see something happen to him.'"

• Brookings' John Allen: ISIS Has Become a 'Three Headed Monster
• ISIS Loses All Territory But Its Shadowy Leader Still at Large