Special to WorldTribune.com

U.S.-led coalition air strikes destroyed an Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) facility in Mosul, Iraq that contained “millions of dollars” in cash, according to a Jan. 11 report.

Multiple 2,000-pound bombs hit the facility, which a U.S. defense official told AFP contained a stockpile of cash that “we estimate in the millions of dollars… from all their illicit stuff: oil, looting, extortion.”

The defense official said coalition air strikes had targeted ISIL’s cash storage facilities once or twice in the past year, but the most recent action was “probably” the biggest to date. It was not known if the cash was in U.S. dollars, some other foreign currency, or local dinars, the official added.

After taking heat from critics who said the bombing campaign was moving too slowly, the U.S.-led coalition increased strikes on ISIL’s money-making capabilities, including bombing trucks delivering oil across Syria and Iraq.

The Pentagon also confirmed it would widen the bombing campaign despite the fear it would cause greater civilian deaths.

CNN reported that the bombing of the ISIL facility in Mosul killed at least five and as many as seven civilians.

  civilian casualties, ISIL, U.S. air strike incinerates ‘millions’ in ISIL cash, WorldTribune.com