Leader of Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, delivering a sermon at a mosque in Iraq. (Associated Press photo)
The Islamic State group says its leader has ordered that the organization start minting gold, silver and copper coins for its own currency-the Islamic dinar.
A website affiliated with the militant group said late on Thursday that its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has instructed his followers to start minting the coins to "change the tyrannical monetary system" modelled on Western economies that "enslaved Muslims."
The posting says the order was approved by the group's Shura Council, an advisory board.
After seizing large swaths of Iraqi and Syrian territory earlier this year, the Islamic State group proclaimed a caliphate, or Islamic empire, on lands under its control.
The group has also sought to implement its harsh interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, and al-Baghdadi has proclaimed himself the caliph.