Dozens of Turkish hostages abducted by Islamist militants in northern Iraq were freed Saturday after three months in captivity, CNN reports.
Militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria raided the Turkish consulate in June and seized 49 people, including Consul General Ozturk Yilmaz.
Others abducted included his family, children and other citizens who were at the consulate in Mosul at the time, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Of the total, three were local employees and 46 were Turkish citizens. All were freed and the latter are now in their home country, Turkish authorities said.
It’s unclear how they were freed, but Erdogan thanked Turkish intelligence officials in a statement on his website.
“I thank … every single member of the national intelligence agency from the director to the field operatives,” he said. “I congratulate them for their big success from the bottom of my heart.”
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