Afghan Taliban deliver four remaining Turks to officials: Turkish PM

ISTANBUL

The eight were taken captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan's eastern Logar province when their helicopter was forced to make a "hard landing" last month. AFP photo

The Afghan Taliban said on Tuesday it has freed the remaining four of eight Turkish civilians detained last month, the Islamist group said in a statement.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has confirmed during a press conference held before a trip to Washington that Turkish civilians kidnapped by the Taliban have been delivered to Turkish officials.

The eight were taken captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan's eastern Logar province when their helicopter was forced to make a "hard landing" last month. The first four were freed earlier this week.

Turks released by Taliban arrive home

Four Turks who were released May 12 by the Taliban returned to Turkey yesterday. Four Turkish engineers who were kidnapped April 21 in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Logar were welcomed by their relatives and friends at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport. Milayim Çelik, Nurettin Koştur, Erkan Kaya and Abdülbaki Aslanhan will head to Adana following their arrival in Istanbul, according to reports.

Eight Turks were taken hostage by insurgents after a transport helicopter carrying at least 11 civilians was forced to make an emergency landing in a Taliban-controlled area in eastern Afghanistan. The Taliban said in an emailed statement that the four had been released as a “goodwill, humanitarian gesture and as a sign of respect to the Muslim people of Turkey.”

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pointed out the Turkish intelligence agency’s role at the release of the Turkish citizens. “Thanks to the efforts of MIT [Turkish intelligence], four of them were handed over to us and are safe,” Erdoğan said May 12 a rally in Istanbul.