MESOP LIVE: CLICK FOR LIVE STREAM & PICS – Turkey’s 49 hostages freed in MİT operation – a brilliant operation
ŞANLIURFA – ANKARA – President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced Sept. 20 that Turkey’s 49 hostages held by extremist militants in Iraq for 101 days have been freed through an operation conducted by the country’s spy agency.Öztürk Yılmaz, Turkey’s consul general in Mosul, and 48 staff of the consulate were brought to Turkey at 5.00 a.m. local time, and officials stressed that they were all in good health. “Our consul in Mosul, his family and Turkish citizens at the consulate who had been abducted have been freed by a successful operation,” Erdoğan said in a written statement early Sept. 20, announcing the news to the Turkish public. “I thank the prime minister and his colleagues for this carefully planned, detailed and secret operation, which continued all night and was successfully completed early morning,” the statement added.
Turkey’s consul general and other staff in Mosul have been held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) since June 11. “Our National Intelligence Agency [MİT] has followed the issue with patience and dedication, and finally performed a successful rescue operation,” the statement added.According to sources, the operation was not a military one and there were no clashes with ISIL militants. It was rather based on negotiations with local authorities in Iraq that bore fruit late on Sept. 19.
Sources denied the involvement any other country’s intelligence organization and said no ransom money had been paid.
Live updates: Turkish intelligence releases details of operation to free 49 captives
11:14 – HDN’s Sevil Erkuş who is currently at the Esenboğa Airport reports that around 1,000 people have so far gathered at the airport, waiting for the landing of Davutoğlu’s plane. They were all distributed Turkish flags. Davutoğlu, accompanied with Consul General Öztürk Yılmaz, is expected to hold a press conference at the airport.
11:04 – Crowds brought to the airport by the buses of the Ankara Greater Municipaltiy are gathering at the Esenboğa Airport to cheer the release of Turkish hostages.
10:45 – Şamil Tayyar, a deputy from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has claimed that the U.S. intelligence is behind the operation. “One of Turkey’s reasons for not joining the [international] operation against ISIL was the hostages. Their release in this critical phase is a move by CIA,” he said in a tweet.
10:44 – In a written statement, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry officially thanked to the MİT and other relevant institutions that have been exerted efforts for the release of the Mosul Consulate personnel, in a written statement.
10:35 – The operation was launched after the ISIL “broke its promise,” Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said. (Click here for the details)
10:29 – Öztürk Yılmaz, Turkey’s Mosul Consul General, briefs PM Davutoğlu as the plane carrying all freed Turks is about to take off from GAP Airport in Şanlıurfa. The plane is expected to land Ankara’s Esenboğa Airport in one hour.
10:17 – According to a Turkish intelligence source, the operation that freed the 49 personnel of the Turkish consulate in Mosul from the ISIL was carried out by the exterior operations department of Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MİT). (Click here for more details)
10:08 Few details regarding Turkey’s operation have been reported so far. Stressing that the Turks entered Turkey through the Akçakale border gate, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputy Sinan Ogan claimed that came via Tel Abyad town in Syria. Over a 100 days ago, they were taken captive by the ISIL in the Iraqi city of Mosul.
9:55 – PM Davutoğlu, who is expected to appear before cameras along the consulate staff in Ankara soon, had been informed about the operation during his visit in Azerbaijan. Here is a photo showing the moment he was briefed on phone:
9: 48 – PM Davutoğlu meets the freed Turks, who include a child, in the airport. “Let’s go to Ankara and make you meet your families as soon as possible,” Davutoğlu told them in a short statement.
8:58 – Şanlırfa Gov. İzzettin Küçük said PM Davutoğlu would give detailed information on the issue in the coming hours.
8:55 – After entering Turkey with a bus from Syria, the consulate personnel arrive in GAP Airport in the southeastern Turkish province of Şanlıurfa. According to Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, 46 Turks arrive in Turkey. Three other consulate prsonnel were Iraqi citizens and went to their countries, Al Jazeera Turkish reported.
6:10 – The first statement was made by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu who was in Baku for an official visit. At a press conference, Davutoğlu heralded the good news, saying: “Our contacts have been intensified late in the night (Sept. 19) and they have been brough to Turkey at 5.00 a.m. We have closely followed the developments and we have recently informed our president about the situation. This happy incident prepared all of us to a good morning.” The prime minister called the hostage crisis as one of the most important tests Turkey has faced, adding they could succesfully accomplish the process thanks to the MIT and its chief Hakan Fidan’s hard work.
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