Islamic State oil revenue cut in half, U.S. says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Air strikes, a drop in the price of oil, and counter-smuggling efforts by neighboring countries have combined to cut Islamic State's oil revenues in half to about $250 million per year, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Wednesday. A U.S.-led coalition has targeted the ultra-hardline Sunni Islamist militant group with airstrikes since it seized control of parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The U.S. military launched an intensified effort in October to go after its oil

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Air strikes, a drop in the price of oil, and counter-smuggling efforts by neighboring countries have combined to cut Islamic State's oil revenues in half to about $250 million per year, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Wednesday. A U.S.-led coalition has targeted the ultra-hardline Sunni Islamist militant group with airstrikes since it seized control of parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The U.S. military launched an intensified effort in October to go after its oil…