Finances of jihad: How extremist groups raise money

Twelve months ago, the group now known as Islamic State (IS) was little recognised on the international stage beyond those inspired to travel and join the group as fighters or those in the security and academic worlds monitoring developments in Syria and Iraq.

Even at its emergence, it was dismissed as just another of the multitude taking advantage of the chaos created in Syria by the wide-ranging conflict with President Bashar al-Assad.
In January 2014, US President Barack Obama downplayed the capabilities and threats posed by those flying the al-Qaeda flag in Falluja and elsewhere across Iraq and Syria.
But within a few months, IS controlled a vast and valuable swathe of territory across northern Syria and Iraq.
Former US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel described IS as being as "sophisticated and well-funded as any group that we have seen". "They're beyond just a terrorist group… they are tremendously well funded," he said.

--BBC News