US-led air strikes have cut IS oil revenues: US military

WASHINGTON: US-led coalition air strikes against Islamic State oil facilities have cut the militant group's oil revenues by about 30 percent since October, a coalition spokesman said on Wednesday.

In October, the U.S. military launched an intensified effort to go after oil infrastructure controlled by Islamic State, dubbed "Tidal Wave II."

That effort has consisted so far of 65 air strikes, a Baghdad-based spokesman for the U.S.-led campaign, U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren, said in a news briefing.

"We assess this operation has reduced their revenue by about 30 percent," Warren said. Islamic State was producing 45,000 barrels of oil per day prior to the campaign, compared to about 34,000 bpd now, Warren said.