DUBAI (CIHAN) - Three Turkish hostages, who were abducted last week in Iraq, were released on Tuesday, Qatar based Al Jazeere satellite channel reported on Tuesday.
Turkish workers who were working at a Turkish air-conditioner company, were abducted by the militants of the Jama`at al-Tawhid and Jihad which is linked with Abu Musab Al Zarkavi.
The captors had threatened to behead the Turkish hostages unless Turkish construction firms operating in Iraq leave the country within 72 hours. The deadline for the hostages had expired today.
Al Jazeera television showed videos of masked militants who read a statement, saying " We decided to release the Turkish hostages for the sake of the Muslim people and to protests George Bush."
Some 20,000 Turkish protesters marched against NATO and US President George W. Bush on Sunday. Yesterday, 2,000 thousand protesters clashed with anti-riot police in a tense rally against NATO and Bush.
Although the Turkish government rejected the demands of the militants, the Turkish air-conditioner company decided to halt its operation in Iraq and to withdraw its workers.
It was highly possible that the Turkish workers were taken hostage last Thursday. Two weeks ago, seven Turkish workers were kidnapped in Iraq but they were later released by their captors.
Iraqi militants had beheaded a South Korean hostage last week when the South Korean government refused to withdraw its troops from Iraq.
The abduction of the Turkish workers coincided with the visit of US President George W. Bush to the Turkish capital of Ankara and ahead of the NATO Summit in Istanbul. The releases of the hostages occurred during the second day of NATO summit.