Senior TRAC Analyst, Daniel Lebowitz has been monitoring recent crop burnings by Islamic State in al-Jalam, Samarra, Salah al-Din / Salahuddin, Iraq. In May of 2019, Islamic State started burning farmer's crops as extortion for not paying taxes to the Islamic State and by June of the same year, IS weekly Naba newspaper promised a "Hot Summer" threatening arson attacks on any perceived farm not in support of the Islamic State. The first crop burnings attributed to Islamic State occurred on 11 May 2020, in Makhmour, Iraq and in a high-profile video, Islamic State depicted crop burning as part of their 2020 Operation in Iraq.