IS collected 45 mln dollars in ransom last year

The Islamic State (IS) has received up to 35 to 45 million dollars in ransom last year, a United Nations expert monitoring sanctions against Al Qaeda said.

While addressing a meeting of the UN Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee on Monday, Yotsna Lalji said that about 120 million dollars were received by terror groups as ransom payments between 2004 and 2012, reported New York Post.

The figures showed that kidnapping for ransom by terror groups continues to grow, she said. Pointing to an October 2012 video in which Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri urged fighters across the globe to abduct westerners, Lalji added that the terror outfit has made kidnapping "the core tactic" for generating revenue in recent years.

Lalji said that Al Qaeda-linked terror groups like Boko Haram in Nigeria and Al Shabab in Somalia have also collected millions of dollars in ransom over the past years.