A Turkish construction company announced today that it was halting operations in neighbouring Iraq in a bid to save the lives of ten employees kidnapped by militants.
Meanwhile, state TRT television reported the body of a Turk, identified as Mr Akar Besir, was found early today near Mosul.
The report said Besir was employed as a driver for a firm working for the US military and was kidnapped on Saturday. No other details were immediately available.
Earlier today, Mr Tahsin Top, a Turkish hostage in Iraq whose company withdrew from Iraq was released by his kidnappers, the Foreign Ministry said. Top had been abducted north of Baghdad on August 5th by kidnappers who threatened to behead him if his Turkish employer did not withdraw from Iraq.
Top's company, Atahan Lojistik International, later withdrew from Iraq. The kidnappers then demanded $45,000 for Top's release. It was not clear if any money was paid. The Ankara-based VINSAN construction company said in a statement it was freezing operations and added that its 10 kidnapped employees were innocent and were trying to support their families.
The statement was signed by VINSAN chairman of board Ali Haydar Veziroglu, who was in Baghdad. In a video broadcast on Saturday by Al-Jazeera television, a previously unknown militant group calling itself the "Salafist Brigades of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq" said it would kill the 10 hostages if the company did not pull out of Iraq within three days.
AP