Zakho

Russia said Dec. 25 that trucks loaded with oil continue to cross from Syria into Turkey but in lesser numbers thanks to its bombing campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

"Oil tank trucks are continuing to cross the Syrian-Turkish border," the defence ministry said in a statement, AFP reported.

The number of refugees from Iraq's Yazidi religious minority who have fled to Turkey from the advance of jihadists has risen to 16,000 and may rise further, a top provincial official was quoted as saying Aug. 30.

Karadeniz Holding, a Turkish energy company that supplies power to the Iraqi city of Mosul, seized by Islamist jihadist militants, announced it suspended electricity exports to Iraq two weeks ago as their contract ended.

Additionally, the government has said it has no plans to prevent the company from supplying power to the region.