Mosul shopkeepers under orders from the Islamic State to protect the modesty of plastic mannequins in clothing displays
Islamic State instructions said clothing outlets must cover the faces of mannequins in line with Muslim tenets of covering up the human former
Islamic extremists have sought to entrench their strict religious regime in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul by banning naked mannequins, just days after imposing orders to convert, pay taxes or die rules on the city's Christians.
Islamic State instructions said clothing outlets must cover the faces of mannequins in line with Muslim tenets of covering up the human former.
The orders which apply to both male and female mannequins are in line with strict interpretations of sharia law that forbid statues or artwork depicting the human form are part of a growing web of rules and commercial regulations emanating from the Islamic militant group. It has also set out an extensive list of levies on all vehicles and trucks bringing goods into Mosul.
Mannequins with their faces covered are displayed in a shop window in central Mosul
A large truck must pay $400 (£235), while small trucks are charged $100 and cars $50 if they are also carrying goods.
Its schedule of Jizyah or taxes on Christians and other non-Muslims, breaks down into $715 a year for the rich, $375 a year for the middle class and $178 for the poorest.
Ahmed Younis, a Baghdad expert on armed groups, said the Islamists were in effect establishing an economic state based on the increasing resources and infrastructure under their command.
Considering its spread across the Syria-Iraq border, its grip over oilfields there and its growing economic activity, Islamic State will "transform into an economic giant with assets of billions of dollars," he said.
"In future, will they buy shares? Everything is possible," Mr Younis said.
Islamic State has taken over the Najma and Qayara fields, while further south near Tikrit it overran the Himreen and Ajil fields during its two-day sweep through northern Iraq in mid-June.
The oilfields in Islamic State hands are modest compared to Iraq's giant fields near Kirkuk and Basra, which are under Kurdish and central government control. Most of the Islamic State-held oil wells - estimated by a Kurdish official to number around 80 - are sealed and not pumping.
But the monopoly over fuel in the territory it has captured gives the Islamic State leverage over other armed Sunni factions who could threaten its dominance in northern Iraq.
Iraqi officials say that in recent weeks the group has transported oil from Qayara to be processed by mobile refineries in Syria into low quality gasoil and gasoline, then brought back for sale in Mosul, a city of 2 million people.
Larger shipments of crude, some of them from Najma, are also sold via smugglers to Turkish traders at vastly discounted prices of around $25 per barrel, they said.
"We have confirmed reports showing that the Islamic State is shipping crude from Najma oilfield in Mosul into Syria to smuggle it to one of Syria's neighbours," said Husham al-Brefkani, head of Mosul provincial council's energy committee.
"The Islamic State is making multi-million dollar profits from this illegal trade."
Its schedule of Jizyah or taxes on Christians and other non-Muslims, breaks down into $715 a year for the rich, $375 a year for the middle class and $178 for the poorest.
Ahmed Younis, a Baghdad expert on armed groups, said the Islamists were in effect establishing an economic state based on the increasing resources and infrastructure under their command.
Considering its spread across the Syria-Iraq border, its grip over oilfields there and its growing economic activity, Islamic State will "transform into an economic giant with assets of billions of dollars," he said.
"In future, will they buy shares? Everything is possible," Mr Younis said.
Islamic State has taken over the Najma and Qayara fields, while further south near Tikrit it overran the Himreen and Ajil fields during its two-day sweep through northern Iraq in mid-June.
The oilfields in Islamic State hands are modest compared to Iraq's giant fields near Kirkuk and Basra, which are under Kurdish and central government control. Most of the Islamic State-held oil wells - estimated by a Kurdish official to number around 80 - are sealed and not pumping.
But the monopoly over fuel in the territory it has captured gives the Islamic State leverage over other armed Sunni factions who could threaten its dominance in northern Iraq.
Iraqi officials say that in recent weeks the group has transported oil from Qayara to be processed by mobile refineries in Syria into low quality gasoil and gasoline, then brought back for sale in Mosul, a city of 2 million people.
Larger shipments of crude, some of them from Najma, are also sold via smugglers to Turkish traders at vastly discounted prices of around $25 per barrel, they said.
"We have confirmed reports showing that the Islamic State is shipping crude from Najma oilfield in Mosul into Syria to smuggle it to one of Syria's neighbours," said Husham al-Brefkani, head of Mosul provincial council's energy committee.
"The Islamic State is making multi-million dollar profits from this illegal trade."
