Turkish Army denies Iraq arrested its officers

ANKARA (AA)

Iraqi Shiite men, some of them wearing military fatigues and guns given by the government, raise their weapons as they gather in the Iraqi town of Jdaideh in Diyala province on June 14, to show their support for the call to arms by Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE

The Turkish General Staff has denied claims that four Turkish officers, who were allegedly providing training to radical Islamist militants, have been arrested by Iraqi security forces in the city of Fallujah.

In a written statement issued on June 14, the General Staff described the claims as "groundless."

The claims came after Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants raided the Turkish consulate in Mosul on June 11 and abducted 49 Turkish nationals, including consulate staff and their families. The raid came after ISIL took control of the city on June 10.