Islamic terrorism

==== Kidnapping as revenue ====
[[Nasir al-Wuhayshi]] leader of the [[Islamist]] militant group [[Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula]] describes kidnapped hostages as "an easy spoil... which I may describe as a profitable trade and a precious treasure."<ref name="nytimes1">{{cite news|last1=Callimachi|first1=Rukmini Maria|title=Paying Ransoms, Europe Bankrolls Qaeda Terror|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/30/world/africa/ransoming-citizens-europe-becomes-al-qaedas-patron.html|access-date=4 September 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=29 July 2014}}</ref>

A 2014 investigation, by journalist [[Rukmini Maria Callimachi]] published in ''[[The New York Times]]'' demonstrated that between 2008 and 2014, Al Qaeda and groups directly affiliated with al-Qaeda took in over US$125 million from kidnapping, with $66 million of that total paid in 2013 alone. The article showed that from a somewhat haphazard beginning in 2003, kidnapping grew into the group's main fundraising strategy, with targeted, professional kidnapping of civilians from wealthy European countries—principally France, Spain and Switzerland—willing to pay huge ransoms. US and UK nationals are less commonly targeted since these governments have shown an unwillingness to pay ransom.<ref name="nytimes1" />

[[Boko Haram]] kidnapped Europeans for the Ransom their governments would pay in the early 2010s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/boko-haram-the-chibok-abductions-and-nigerias-counterterrorism-strategy|title=Boko Haram, the Chibok Abductions and Nigeria's Counterterrorism Strategy|website=Combating Terrorism Center|publisher=West Point Military Academy|last1=Hill|first1=J.N.C.|date=30 July 2014|access-date=4 September 2014|archive-date=4 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904160609/https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/boko-haram-the-chibok-abductions-and-nigerias-counterterrorism-strategy|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Kington|first=Tom|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/11/nigerian-kidnappers-paid-part-of-ransom|title=Nigerian kidnappers 'received ransom downpayment'|newspaper=The Guardian|date=10 March 2012|access-date=4 September 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905003658/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/11/nigerian-kidnappers-paid-part-of-ransom|archive-date=5 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=BBCnigeria|title=Italian Abducted in Nigeria Freed|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-18305746|access-date=4 September 2014|publisher=BBC|date=1 June 2012}}</ref> For example, in the spring of 2013, Boko Haram kidnapped and within 2 months released a French family of 7 and 9 other hostages in exchange for a payment by the French government of $3.15 million.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Caulderwood|first1=Kathleen|title=Fake Charities, Drug Cartels, Ransom and Extortion: Where Islamist Group Boko Haram Gets Its Cash|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/fake-charities-drug-cartels-ransom-extortion-where-islamist-group-boko-haram-gets-its-cash-1585743|access-date=29 September 2014|newspaper=International Business Times|date=16 May 2014}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=June 2022}}

According to [[Yochi Dreazen]] writing in ''[[Foreign Policy]]'', although ISIS received funding from Qatar, Kuwait and other Gulf oil states, "traditional criminal techniques like kidnapping", are a key funding source for ISIS.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Dreazen|first=Yochi|author-link=Yochi Dreazen|url=http://complex.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/06/16/isis_uses_mafia_tactics_to_fund_its_own_operations_without_help_from_persian_gulf_d|title=ISIS Uses Mafia Tactics to Fund Its Own Operations Without Help From Persian Gulf Donors|magazine=Foreign Policy|access-date=4 September 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140617074156/http://complex.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/06/16/isis_uses_mafia_tactics_to_fund_its_own_operations_without_help_from_persian_gulf_d|archive-date=17 June 2014}}</ref> [[Armin Rosen]] writing in [[Business Insider]], kidnapping was a "crucial early source" of funds as ISIS expanded rapidly in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/isiss-history-of-hostage-taking-2014-8|title=ISIS Has Been Taking Foreign Hostages Since The Very Beginning – And Getting Paid For Them|date=20 August 2014|website=Business Insider|last1=Rosen|first1=Armin|access-date=4 September 2014}}</ref>  In March, upon receiving payment from the government of Spain, ISIS released 2 Spanish hostages working for the newspaper [[El Mundo (Spain)|El Mundo]], correspondent Javier Espinosa and photographer [[Ricardo Garcia Vilanova]], who had been held since September 2013.<ref>{{cite news|last1=BBCMarch|title=Syria crisis: Spanish journalists freed after ISIS kidnapping|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26807207|access-date=4 September 2014|publisher=BC|date=30 March 2014}}</ref> [[Philip Balboni]], CEO of [[GlobalPost]] told the press that he had spent "millions" in efforts to ransom journalist [[James Foley (journalist)|James Foley]], and an American official told the [[Associated Press]] that demand from ISIS was for 100 million ($132.5).<ref>{{cite news|last1=CBSNews|title=Multiple kidnappings for ransom funding ISIS, source says|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/multiple-kidnappings-for-ransom-funding-isis-source-says/|access-date=4 September 2014|publisher=CBS News|date=21 August 2014}}</ref>  In September 2014, following the release of ISIS [[Beheading video]]s of journalists James Foley and [[Steven Sotloff]], British Prime Minister [[David Cameron]] appealed to members of the [[G7]] to abide by their pledges not to pay ransom "in the case of terrorist kidnap".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Elliott |first1=Francis |title=European allies shamed over ransom payments |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/european-allies-shamed-over-ransom-payments-d66g7qg0rds |access-date=7 May 2021 |work=The Times |date=5 September 2014}}</ref>

Holding foreign journalists as hostages is so valuable to ISIS that Rami Jarrah, a Syrian who has acted as go-between in efforts to ransom foreign hostages, told the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' that ISIS had "made it known" to other militant groups that they "would pay" for kidnapped journalists.<ref name="autogenerated5">{{cite news|last1=Malas|first1=Nour|title=Hostage-Taking Central to Islamic State Strategy in Syria|url=https://online.wsj.com/articles/hostage-taking-central-to-islamic-state-strategy-in-syria-1408711183|access-date=4 September 2014|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=22 August 2014}}</ref> ISIS has also kidnapped foreign-aid workers and Syrians who work for foreign-funded groups and reconstruction projects in Syria.<ref name="autogenerated5" />  By mid-2014, ISIS was holding assets valued at US$2 billion.<ref>{{cite news|last=Chulov|first=Martin|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/15/iraq-isis-arrest-jihadists-wealth-power|title=Iraq arrest that exposed wealth and power of Isis jihadists|newspaper=The Guardian|date=16 June 2014|access-date=17 June 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140616091317/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/15/iraq-isis-arrest-jihadists-wealth-power|archive-date=16 June 2014}}</ref>

===== Kidnapping as psychological warfare =====
Boko Haram has been described as using kidnapping as a means of intimidating the civilian population into non-resistance.<ref name="ctc.usma.edu">{{cite journal|date=30 July 2014|title=Boko Haram, the Chibok Abductions and Nigeria's Counterterrorism Strategy|url=https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/boko-haram-the-chibok-abductions-and-nigerias-counterterrorism-strategy|journal=Combating Terrorism Center at West Point|last1=Hill|first1=Jonathan N.C.|access-date=4 September 2014|archive-date=4 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904160609/https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/boko-haram-the-chibok-abductions-and-nigerias-counterterrorism-strategy|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Marina Lazreg 2009 p. 47">Marina Lazreg, "Consequences of Political Liberalisation and Sociocultural Mobilisation for Women in Algeria, Egypt and Jordan", in Anne-Marie Goetz, Governing Women: Women's Political Effectiveness in Contexts of Democratisation and Governance Reform (New York: Routledge/UNRISD, 2009), p. 47.</ref>

According to psychologist [[Irwin Mansdorf]], Hamas demonstrated effectiveness of kidnapping as a form of [[psychological warfare]] in the [[2006 Gaza cross-border raid|2006 capture]] of the Israeli soldier [[Gilad Shalit]] when public pressure forced the government of Israel to release 1027 prisoners, including 280 convicted of terrorism by Israel, in exchange for his release.<ref>{{cite news|first=Andreas|last=Gorzewski|url=http://www.dw.com/en/hamas-uses-kidnapping-as-a-strategic-tool/a-17799249|title=Hamas uses kidnapping as a strategic tool|publisher=Deutsche Welle|date=22 July 2014|access-date=4 August 2016}}</ref> According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', "Hamas has recognized the pull such incidents have over the Israeli psyche and clearly has moved to grab hostages in incidents such as the [[death and ransoming of Oron Shaul]]."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kershner|first1=Isabel|author-link1=Isabel Kershner|author2=Jodi Rudoren|title=A Blast, a Fire and an Israeli Soldier Goes Missing |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-conflict.html |work=The New York Times|date=22 July 2014|access-date=4 August 2016}}</ref>