Turkish workers kidnapped in Iraq have been released: Turkish PM

Employer of workers says they are expected to return to Turkey on Wednesday or Thursday after debriefing

ANKARA: Sixteen Turkish workers abducted four weeks ago by armed militants in Iraq have been released and are with embassy officials, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on his Twitter account on Wednesday.

The men, snatched on Sept. 2 from a stadium they were building on the outskirts of Baghdad, are expected to return to Turkey on Wednesday or Thursday after a debriefing, the chief executive of Nurol Holding, their employer, said.

On Monday, the workers appeared in an online video promising their release, days after a UN-backed deal to extricate Syrian villagers under siege from rebels supported by Ankara.

The abductees had appeared in a video days after their capture, apparently held by an armed group that used a familiar Shia Muslim slogan and threatened to attack Turkish interests in Iraq if its demands were not met.

The new video released late on Sunday showed the men sitting below the same slogan, clean-shaven and wearing T-shirts. The video’s authenticity could not be verified. Officials in Iraq and Turkey were not immediately available to comment.