News / Foreign Policy

Daesh trucks that sell oil are ‘civilian targets’ to US

Monday, 30 November 2015 9:20 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 30 November 2015 9:25 PM ]

Oil tankers, owned by Daesh, tasked with transporting petrol for sale outside regions under the terrorists’ control in Iraq and Syria

A prominent Iraqi official says his request from the United States to target Daesh trucks that carry the Iraqi and Syrian oil for sale out of the countries has failed to bear any result as Washington considers them “civilian targets.”

Amid Moscow’s recent objections to Turkey’s role in the sale of the oil stolen by the Takfiri terrorists, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, made the remarks to Sputnik Monday, suggesting that the US intentionally ignores the illegal oil sale.

“I have personally contacted US representatives asking them to target ISIL trucks transporting Iraqi and Syrian oil to Turkey only to be told that those were civilian targets so they could not attack them,” said Rubaie, a leader of the State of Law Coalition party in the Iraqi parliament and former national security adviser.

Rubaie said earlier that the militant group had made over $800 million dollars in black market oil sales in Turkey over the last eight months, signifying the move has been ignored by the so-called US-led coalition for a long while.

This is not the first time Ankara is being implicated in support for Daesh, whose militants have been committing crimes against the lives and heritage of people in Iraq and Syria.

Moscow, however, broke the silence on Turkey’s role in the oil sale after a Russian jet, engaged in bombing Takfiri positions, was downed by the Turkish air force, putting Moscow-Ankara ties under tension.

Since August 2014, the United States and some of its allies have been conducting airstrikes against what they say are Daesh positions in Iraq. Since last September, some members of the US-led coalition have also been pounding purported Daesh positions inside Syria without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate.

However, the airstrikes have not dislodged the Daesh terrorists and have reportedly caused huge collateral damage, and civilian deaths.

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