Israeli defence minister accuses Turkey of buying oil from IS

Israel's defence minister Moshe Yaalon has accused Turkey of buying oil from the so-called Islamic State group, international media report.

Speaking in Athens, Yaalon said IS had "enjoyed Turkish money for oil for a very, very long period of time".

According to reports, Turkey has denied allowing IS smuggling, and the US recently rejected Russian allegations that Turkish government officials were in league the militants, the BBC adds.

"It's up to Turkey, the Turkish government, the Turkish leadership, to decide whether they want to be part of any kind of cooperation to fight terrorism," Yaalon told reporters after a meeting with his Greek counterpart. He added that it seemed that this was ot the case so far, with Turkey giving the group money for their oil for a long period of time.

Yaalon further alleged that the country has also allowed jihadists to travel from Europe to Syria, and Iraq and back, where large territories have been captured by the militant group. The areas under IS control include key operational oil fields.

According to the BBC, although the US state department rejected allegations that the Turkish government is involved in the dealings, a state department spokesman confirmed that IS oil was being smuggled into Turkey via middlemen.

The relationship between Israel and Turkey hit a further low this month over demands for compensation for the deaths of 10 Turkish activists on an aid ship in 2010, after the Israeli navy had raided a flotilla of ships trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza.