Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 20
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Turkish hostages that were captured in Iraq have been returned to homeland, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Sept. 20, Turkish TRT Haber TV channel reported.
According to Davutoglu, the state of health of returned Turkish citizens is satisfactory.
In June of the year 49 employees of Turkey's diplomatic mission, situated in Iraqi city of Mosul, were captured by terrorists of IS (Islamic State)
The terrorist organization calling itself the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIL or ISIS) was created in 2003 in Iraq. In 2004-2006, the organization was led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and consisted of 11 radical Islamic groups, which had close ties to the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda.
Following the start of the military confrontation in Syria between the armed opposition and the government forces, the terrorist organization penetrated to Syria in 2013.
After this, the organization announced that it refuses to take the oath of Al-Qaeda and declared a jihad (a holy war) against all groups in Iraq and Syria, as well as the Syrian government forces.
Strengthening the position of the IS in Syria led to the fact that it was able to return to Iraq, deploying military actions against government forces.
In late June, the IS announced about the creation of the "Islamic Caliphate" on the territories under its control in Iraq and Syria. Iraqi authorities appealed to international community for help in combating the IS.