海角大神

Khaled al-Asaad would not divulge to Islamic State militants where the antique treasures of his beloved Palmyra were carted off to and hidden before the Islamist extremists took control of the ancient Roman city in Syria聽earlier this year.

For that, the renowned Syrian scholar of Palmyra鈥檚 antiquities was beheaded publicly on Tuesday.

That Mr. Asaad dared defy the authorities of the self-described Islamic State was probably enough to bring its wrath on him. But the courageous scholar鈥檚 execution over his protection of valuable antiquities may also say something about the terrorist organization鈥檚 evolving sources of funding, some experts in terrorist financing say.

鈥淣one of this is a science, but it鈥檚 fair to say that ISIS is turning more to the smuggling and trafficking of antiquities as other revenue sources become more problematic or dry up,鈥� says Colin Clarke, an expert in terrorist and insurgent financing at the RAND Corp. in Pittsburgh.

鈥淲e can imagine ISIS detaining Mr. Asaad and saying, 鈥榃e need those antiquities, we will find them, and if you try to hinder us you will pay the price,鈥欌�� says Dr. Clarke, using another acronym for the group controlling more than one-third of both Syria and Iraq.

The Islamic State is better known for blowing up ancient sites and sledge-hammering treasured artifacts as part of its zeal to rid the territories it has seized of the vestiges of what it considers to be pagan or infidel civilizations. Antiquities scholars have worried for months that Islamic State militants would carry out the wholesale destruction of Palmyra as part of its purification campaign.

But Palmyra has largely been spared, at least so far, suggesting to Islamic State analysts that the group is intent on trafficking whatever antiquities it can.

鈥淚SIS has been planning strategically how to use Palmyra since they took control of the site, and I鈥檇 imagine they鈥檙e sorting through whatever they鈥檝e got their hands on and are looking for more,鈥� says Andrew Tabler, a Syria expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 鈥淚t just goes to show that antiquities is not just a cultural matter, it鈥檚 a business matter.鈥�

Experts estimate that the Islamic State continues to bring in more than $1 million a day in revenues, primarily from illicit oil sales, taxation and extortion in the lands it controls, and ransom from kidnappings. But as those major income sources have been hit 鈥� for example, as oil smuggling has become more difficult with stepped up airstrikes by the US and the anti-Islamic State coalition it leads 鈥� the terrorist group has shifted to fill the gap with other revenue-producing activities.

鈥淚SIS started out from Day 1 with reliance on mafia-style activities to finance itself, and it鈥檚 been fairly adept at making up for falling revenues from one activity by shifting to another,鈥� says Clarke, author of the recently published book, 鈥淭errorism, Inc.,鈥� on the financing of terrorism and insurgencies. 鈥淚t makes sense that, if the oil lifeline is coming under pressure, it would look at its portfolio and see where it could shift, and that would include antiquities.鈥�

Islamic State militants did recently destroy a large antique lion sculpture that long stood guard outside the Palmyra museum where Asaad worked for five decades. But thousands of pieces from the museum and elsewhere in Palmyra鈥檚 archaeological sites were removed and hidden just before the Islamic State鈥檚 capture of the city in May.

The antiquities鈥� whereabouts is the information that the Islamic State militants wanted 鈥� and that Asaad was apparently unwilling to give up.

But with or without the museum鈥檚 pieces, Palmyra is a trove of antiquities, Mr. Tabler of the Washington Institute says, and he expects more of its treasures to reach the black market in antiquities. 鈥淚SIS is going to be in control of Palmyra for quite some time still, if not for the foreseeable future,鈥� he says, 鈥渟o we鈥檙e probably only seeing the beginning of them playing the antiquities card.鈥�

RAND鈥檚 Clarke says there is very likely another explanation for Asaad鈥檚 public execution, and that is the Islamic State鈥檚 need to nip in the bud any defiance of its authority and control.

鈥淭his is symbolic, it sends a clear message to anyone who would defy ISIS: 鈥榃e鈥檙e not messing around,鈥� 鈥� he says. The Islamic State, he adds, is seeking to establish a state-like entity with laws and clear rules that, while harsh, nevertheless give the inhabitants of its lands a 鈥減redictable鈥� path for pursuing their lives.

鈥淚t鈥檚 doing it with particularly brutal methods,鈥� Clarke says, 鈥渂ut what ISIS is saying is that 鈥楢s long as you do the things we鈥檝e clearly laid out and you aren鈥檛 foolish enough to rebel against us, you can survive under our rule.鈥� 鈥� 聽

[Editor's note: The original version misstated where Asaad's body was left after his execution.]