UPDATE 0930 GMT: “A Turkish intelligence source” has indicated that 49 hostages were handed over by the Islamic State without conditions, saying there was no agreement for a swap and no ransom was paid.
The official said the Exterior Operations Department of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) carried out the operation. He said the hostages changed places at least seven times near Mosul in northern Iraq, where they were seized on June 11. He claimed there were at least five opportunities to free them, but these were ruled out by clashes in northern Iraq.
The source said the Islamic State had recently held out against a handover because of its fight with Kurds in northern Syria. The jihadists finally brought the captives to Tel Abyad in Syria, across from the Turkish border town of Akçakale.
The operation was completed on Saturday just after 1 a.m. local time.
Almost 50 Turkish hostages seized by the Islamic State in June in Mosul have been freed and returned to Turkey by the country’s intelligence agency.
The 49 hostages were taken from the Turkish consulate in Iraq’s second city when insurgents, led by the Islamic State, captured it. They included diplomatic personnel, soldiers, and dependants.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced, “Today at 5am we brought our citizens who were detained in Iraq to our country. From my heart, I thank the families who maintained their dignity.” He later met the group in the southern Turkish city of Sanliurfa, before they flew to Ankara.
Davutoglu did not provide details on the circumstances of their release, beyond the statement that they were freed through the Turkish intelligence agency’s “own methods” and that there was no armed operation.
Analysts had speculated that the continued abduction was limiting Turkey’s involvement in any concerted action in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State.
In July, 32 Turkish truck drivers, also seized during the Islamic State’s takeover of Mosul, were freed
Ankara did not provide any information about their release.
