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Iraq says Islamic State stole 1 million tonnes of grain, took it to Syria

Iraq believes Islamic State militants have stolen more than one million tonnes of grain from the country's north and taken it to two cities they control in neighboring Syria, the agriculture minister has said. Falah Hassan al-Zeidan said in a statement posted on the Agriculture Ministry's website on Sunday that the government "had information about […]

Reuters reports:

Iraq believes Islamic State militants have stolen more than one million tonnes of grain from the country's north and taken it to two cities they control in neighboring Syria, the agriculture minister has said. Falah Hassan al-Zeidan said in a statement posted on the Agriculture Ministry's website on Sunday that the government "had information about the smuggling by Islamic State gangs of more than one million tonnes of wheat and barley from Nineveh Province to the Syrian cities of Raqqa and Deir al-Zor." Reuters was unable to verify the information. When Islamic State pushed from Syria into northern Iraq in June, they swiftly took over government grain silos in Nineveh and Salahadeen provinces, where about a third of Iraq's wheat crop and nearly 40 percent of the barley crop is typically grown.