In a report released Monday (February 6th), the UN reveals that the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) is militarily on the defensive, facing a drop in revenue from oil and extortion and a shrinking ability to attract new recruits, AFP reported.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned however in the report to the Security Council that ISIL continues to pose a grave threat.
"ISIL is militarily on the defensive in several regions, notably in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and the Syrian Arab Republic," said the report sent to the council on Thursday.
ISIL finances are on a decline, forcing the group to operate on a "crisis budget", it added.
Illicit oil sales, mainly from oil fields in Syria's Deir Ezzor province, dropped from as much as $500 million in 2015 to $260 million last year.
The report urged governments to be vigilant of ISIL efforts to find new revenue streams, citing concerns that journalists and aid workers traveling to areas recaptured from the group could be targets for kidnapping.
The flow of foreign fighters to Iraq and Syria has slowed considerably, because of security measures taken by governments and due to the group's "diminished attractiveness", the report said.
The council will meet Tuesday to discuss the report.
