Turkey Caught Smuggling ISIS Fighters Into Syria

Turkey Caught Smuggling ISIS Fighters Into Syria

Video footage that surfaced late Thursday has confirmed widespread allegations that the Turkish government’s intelligence agency has been ensuring ISIS terrorists safe passage into Syria.

Turkish daily newspaper Cumhuriyet released secret videos late Thursday implicating the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) in assisting the notorious Takfiri group, which is essentially an ISIS brigade.

The footage shows drivers saying they are “doing their duty to the state” by helping the militants avoid the heavily-defended Syrian city of Kobani.

The drivers explain how Turkish MİT agents accompany the militants during the trip, which starts from the Atme camp in Syria and ends at the border town of Akçakale in Şanlıurfa Province, where the militants and their cargo then reenter Syria.

One driver said “they didn’t allow us to leave the vehicle [once we had arrived at Akçakale]. One of them [ISIS militant] was waiting by our side. Another vehicle came and parked behind my coach and they started moving the cargo from my vehicle [into the other one]. There were 46 [ISIS militants] in my coach, and I learned later on that there were 27 in the other bus. They were bearded men, scruffy looking.”

The newspaper has been carefully investigating reports of Turkey helping ISIS and released videos on June 5th and May 29th that implicate the country in providing material support to ISIS.

U.S. intelligence has confirmed that Turkey is the main buyer of illicit ISIS crude oil, the terrorist group’s number one business.

Syria has become vulnerable since March 2011 when the U.S. and its regional allies, notably Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, began supporting militants operating inside Syria.

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