Turkish Consulate destroyed documents as ISIL militants approached

Sevil ERKUŞ ANKARA

An image grab taken from a propaganda video uploaded on June 11, 2014 by jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) allegedly shows ISIL militants gathering at an undisclosed location in Iraq's Nineveh province. Militants took control of the Iraqi city of Tikrit and freed hundreds of prisoners today, police said, the second provincial capital to fall in two days. AFP PHOTO / HO / ISIL

Turkish Mosul Consulate Öztürk Yılmaz had prepared a discharge plan on June 10 when they realized that the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) had approached 200 meters from consulate compound, but was unable to fully implement the plan due to security circumstances in nearby area. However, the consulate was able to defuse an encrypted computer and destroy confidential diplomatic documents, sources told the Hürriyet Daily News.

Turkish officials have learned that the Mosul Consulate staff abducted by ISIL militants on June 11 are in a good state of health and the Turkish authorities are in contact with them, Turkish sources told the Daily News. 

"Turks are not kidnapped. They are only taken to a safe location and [sic] until the investigation procedures are completed," @Dawla_NewsMedia, a Twitter account believed to be linked to the ISIL, tweeted June 11.

The consulate staff informed Ankara in an “emergency call” as the militants were entering the compound, telling the Foreign Ministry that they had “entered the building and were taking the staff somewhere.” The conversation reportedly ended with the intervention of the militants.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has cut his U.S. trip short due to events, and has held phone conversations with officials from the U.S. and the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for the release of the consulate staff.

An emergency meeting on developments in Iraq was held at the prime ministry with the participation of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay and National Intelligence Agency (MİT) chief Hakan Fidan. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has also cut his U.S. trip short due to events.