ISIS gets the majority of its wealth not from oil, but outright theft from citizens,

Despite making headway in 2015, the Islamic State group is facing imminent battles that will test its hold on key cities in Iraq and Syria in the new year

The Islamic State group is ending 2015 in a better position than it began, geographically speaking, retaining control of key areas in Iraq and expanding its hold in Syria in the face of a withering aerial campaign by the U.S.-led coalition. But as a new year looms, some key battles are imminent. Ramadi: Seized by Islamic State last May, the tide now finally appears to be turning in the battle for the capital of Anbar province, with an Iraqi fighting force led by U.S.-trained Sunni tribal militias winning back the city’s largest neighbourhood last week. Now cut off from the rest of Islamic State, the fate of the ravaged city may prove a bellwether for the larger war, offering a major test for the Shia-dominated Iraqi government’s ability to govern across sectarian lines. Mosul: Although any coalition attempt to retake Mosul remains months away, at best, reports trickling from the city show a deepening paranoia among militants as economic conditions deteriorate. Reuters, in a special report Friday, significantly advanced our understanding of how Islamic State rules Mosul by fear, now more than ever, operating a vast internal spy network, including many children, on the lookout for rule-breakers. Much of that intelligence work, the report confirmed, is overseen by former Iraqi army and intelligence officers. Raqqa: With the U.S., U.K., France and Russia all now dropping bombs on the de facto Islamic State capital — and Vladimir Putin last week adding a nuclear option to his rhetoric, presumably for shock effect — the fate of the city remains inextricably entwined with the fates of its 500,000 civilian inhabitants. But a succession of recent reports from Raqqa suggest rising costs, scarce medical supplies and a deepening paranoia among militants all are adding up to prison-like conditions. Sinjar: In retaking Sinjar, Iraqi Kurdish fighters backed by U.S. airstrikes declared a major victory, cutting off the vital supply line linking Raqqa and Mosul, the group’s two most important cities. But the militants demonstrated their adaptive nature, with trucks blazing a new desert route to Mosul within days, bypassing Sinjar and re-establishing the crucial link to Mosul. Coalition strike planners are resetting their sights anew. Mitch Potter