Posted on 09/20/2014 5:58:48 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
ISTANBUL— Dozens of Turkish hostages being held by the radical Islamic State group have been released. The hostages arrived in Turkey in the early hours of Saturday, local time, after being held for 101 days.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced in a written statement that 49 Turkish hostages held by Islamic State had been released through the efforts of Turkey’s intelligence agency.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry says all the hostages are in good condition.
The hostages are Turkish diplomats and their families, including women and young children, who were taken in June when Islamic State militants overran Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, and seized the Turkish consulate.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who cut short a visit to Azerbaijan, said the release was the result of a protracted process.
Davutoglu said after days and weeks of intense work, Turkish officials returned their citizens to Turkey early in the morning. He said he was honored to share the happy news after the developments, which made up for weeks of sleepless nights and worry.
Local Turkish media reported the hostages, escorted by Turkish intelligence officers, arrived in a convoy of cars at the border city of Sanliurfa.
President Erdogan in his statement paid tribute to Turkey's intelligence service, saying through patience and dedication they had performed a rescue operation.
(Excerpt) Read more at voanews.com ...
Now, we’ll see if this is the reason why Turkey has refused to get involved in the fight against ISIS.
Turkey is their ally.
It is...
I have no doubt that they paid the ransom. “Protracted efforts” by an intelligence agency? Who would describe a “rescue operation” that way? And it ended with the hostages quietly being released rather than glorious tales of firefights? Uh huh.
Well, if it is, then we’ll be hearing a swift reversal of Turkey’s stance....like today.
ISIL Militants Filmed on a Tram in Istanbul as Erdogan Paves the Way for Jihadis to Attack Syria
A couple of Iraqi nationals have recently spotted two militants from the “Islamic State” (aka ISIL or ISIS) terrorist group riding a tram in Istanbul.
(1.5 min. video. The terrorists seem very unafraid, even wearing IS logo shirts.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f5-TM-67Gg
They won’t reverse...Therefore we should not, and it is unfortunate that a NATO ally has turned turkey...
Pardon the pun...
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