BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says Daesh Takfiri terrorist group carries out the majority of its oil smuggling through
Turkey.
Abadi made the remarks in a meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier in Baghdad on Monday, during which he highlighted the "importance of stopping oil smuggling by [Daesh] terrorist gangs, the majority of which is smuggled via
Turkey," his office said in a statement.
The remarks came as tensions have been on the rise in Baghdad-Ankara relations over Turkey’s deployment of troops to northern
Iraq and Daesh oil smuggling via Turkish territory.
On Saturday, Abadi urged
Turkey to withdraw its several hundred forces immediately from Iraq’s northern Nineveh Province and called Ankara's move "an incursion".
He further noted that the oil is either refined and used in
Turkey or sold on the international market.
Turkey has rejected
oil trade with Daesh with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying that he will step down if the accusation is proven to be true. (Press Tv)