Al Qaeda's Accounting Books Revealed

Receipts: This receipt for groceries, which includes prices paid for tomatoes, onions, charcoal, meat and a lightbulb, was retrieved from a building occupied by al-Qaida's North African branch in Timbuktu, Mali

The Thrifty Terrorists: Receipts Reveal How al-Qaida Records Every Expense Down To 60 Cents For Cake And A $1.60 Pot Of Mustard -- Daily Mail/AP

* The extremists left more than 100 receipts in a building occupied by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb in Timbuktu earlier this year
* They assiduously tracked their cash flow, recording purchases as small as a single light bulb
* The often tiny amounts are carefully written out in pencil and colored pen on scraps of paper and Post-it notes

Al-Qaida is obsessed with documenting the most minute expenses, collecting receipts for every purchase from a 60 cent piece of cake to a $1.60 pot of mustard.

In more than 100 receipts left in a building occupied by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb in Timbuktu earlier this year, the extremists assiduously tracked their cash flow, recording purchases as small as a single light bulb.

The often tiny amounts are carefully written out in pencil and colored pen on scraps of paper and Post-it notes: The equivalent of $1.80 for a bar of soap; $8 for a packet of macaroni; $14 for a tube of super glue.

The accounting system on display in the documents found by The Associated Press is a mirror image of what researchers have discovered in other parts of the world where al-Qaida operates, including Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq.

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More News On Al Qaeda's Book Keeping Records

A look at al-Qaida’s priorities through receipts -- Washington Post/AP
Seized receipts reveal al-Qaida's meticulous book-keeping -- The Independent
Al Qaeda Are Strict About Keeping Track of Their Receipts -- The Wire