U.S. Claims Syria, Turkey Involved in Islamic State Oil Business

The U.S. claimed this week that the Islamic State is reportedly profiting off of oil sold to forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, as well as buyers in the Turkish black market.

U.S. Treasury Department official Adam Szubin said in a statement this week that a large part of the terrorist group's $500 million oil business comes from selling the product to the regime of Syrian President al-Assad.

"ISIL is selling a great deal of oil to the Assad regime," Szubin reportedly said during a recent speech in London, as reported by Reuters.

"The two are trying to slaughter each other and they are still engaged in millions and millions of dollars of trade," Szubin added.

As the Los Angeles Times reports, Russian officials have also accused the Turkish government of receiving oil from the Islamic State in exchange for profit.

Turkish officials have responded, arguing that although the government does not purchase oil from the Islamic State, there is still a problem of illegal smuggling activity taking place at its borders.

The Islamic State reportedly sells its illegal oil secretly for half of the price as the legal market.

Mowaffak Rubaie, who formerly worked as a national security advisor for Iraq, recently told the Los Angeles Times that the Islamic State wouldn't be profiting off of oil sales if it wasn't for the aid of neighboring countries.

"No insurgent group, whether it's the Islamic State or not, can survive without a neighboring country either directly supporting it or turning a blind eye to it," he said. "The Turks have to come clean and be on the side of counter-terrorism in the region, full stop."