MOSCOW (Sputnik) — All 18 Turkish construction workers, that were kidnapped by the Shiite militants in Baghdad earlier this month, have been released, local media reported Monday citing the militant group’s account in social network.
According to the local Daily Sabah newspaper, if the militants’ claims are real, it means the group has released 16 captives in addition to two freed in mid-September.
According to the video, released by the group on September 11, the Shiite militants kidnapped the workers to pressure Ankara into changing Turkey’s regional policy.
In June 2014, militants from the terrorist group Islamic State took 49 employees of the Turkish consulate in Mosul in northern Iraq hostage. The hostages were released after three months in captivity.
