MOSCOW, September 20 (RIA Novosti) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan claims the release of 49 Turkish hostages seized by the Islamic State (IS) on Saturday was a "pre-planned operation" by the Turkish intelligence agency (MIT), Reuters reported on Saturday.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced the safe arrival of the hostages on Saturday, according to Reuters. The hostages including Turkey's consul-general, diplomats' children, and special forces soldiers held captive in Iraq since June, returned home with the help of MIT.
The Turks were seized from the Turkish consulate in Iraq by IS on June 11 when the Sunni militants overran Mosul and stormed the consulate.
The IS also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), is a radical Sunni group, which has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012. In June 2014, it launched attacks in northern and western Iraq later announcing the establishment of a caliphate on its conquered territories in Syria and Iraq.
