Air strike in Iraq’s Mosul destroys ‘millions’ in ISIL cash

BAGHDAD // A US-led coalition air strike has destroyed a cash storage facility used by ISIL in the Iraqi city of Mosul, a US defence official said.

Two 900-kilogramme bombs struck the facility, destroying “millions” of dollars worth of cash, the official said on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“We estimate in the millions of dollars ... from all their illicit stuff: oil, looting, extortion,” the official said. The strike came early Monday.

CNN, which first reported the strike, said the US military believed between five and seven civilians had been killed.

The US-led coalition carrying out plane and drone strikes against the ISIL group in Iraq and Syria has been increasingly targeting the extremists’ money-making capabilities, including by bombing trucks that ferry illicit oil across Syria.

ISIL published a video on Monday purporting to show the destruction from an air strike on a bank in Mosul which the US-led coalition said had been aimed at disrupting the group’s financing activities.