Turkish hostages held by ISIL in Mosul ‘soon to be released’
SİVAS - Doğan News Agency
Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz speaks at a meating in Sivas. AA photo
Forty-nine Turkish citizens who have been held hostage by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) for over 50 days will likely be freed in the next day or two, Turkey's Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz said Aug. 2."We are pursuing contacts with all parties in Iraq. We are in contact with everyone who has an influence on ISIL. They [the hostages] may come back tomorrow or the day after tomorrow," Yılmaz told reporters in the Central Anatolian province of Sivas, but still urged patience.
“You may either have an operation to get [the hostages] back, or solve this problem through negotiations with patience,” the minister said. “We want to solve the issue through negotiations, because we believe this is the right way. They [the hostages’ families] should have a little more patience.”
The efforts for the release of the hostages are made in coordination by the National Intelligence Agency (MİT) and the Foreign Ministry. Despite Yılmaz’s statements, Foreign Ministry officials told daily Hürriyet that there were not any developments.
“There is no development regarding the situation, and we do not know if Minister Yılmaz has any new information,” one unnamed Foreign Ministry official was quoted as saying by Hürriyet.
Nearly a week after the kidnapping, a gag order was imposed on the issue and the ruling was delivered to media outlets by Turkey’s Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTÜK) on June 17.
Failure to comply with the ban could lead to financial fines and the suspension of broadcasts or publications.
