ANKARA: After a US attack on the compound of an Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) leader in Syria in May, direct dealings between the terrorist organization and Turkey became undeniable, the UK-based Guardian newspaper claimed, referring to documents seized at the compound.
Following the killing of Abu Sayyaf, an ISIL official responsible for oil smuggling in May, a senior Western official familiar with the intelligence gathered at Sayyaf’s compound said that direct dealings between Turkish officials and ranking ISIL members were now “undeniable.” Suspicions of an undeclared alliance between ISIL and Turkey have hardened since Abu Sayyaf’s death, The Guardian said.
“There are hundreds of flash drives and documents that were seized there,” the daily quoted the official as telling the Observer.
“From mid-2013, the Tunisian fighter [Abu Sayyaf] had been responsible for smuggling oil from Syria’s eastern fields, which the group had by then commandeered. Black market oil quickly became the main driver of Isis [ISIL] revenues — and Turkish buyers were its main clients,” the daily said.
An estimated $1million to $4 million in oil revenues per day is believed to have flowed into ISIL over at least six months from late 2013, the newspaper maintained.
