ANKARA - The number of Turks kidnapped or reported missing in Iraq has exceeded five, sources said late on Friday.
In a statement made on Wednesday, insurgents stated that they kept hostage two Turks, Abdullah Ozdemir and Ali Daskin, and urged the companies where Ozdemir and Daskin were working to leave Iraq within 72 hours. Sa-Ra and Usluer companies, where these two Turks were working, released an urgent statement in which they said that they decided to withdraw from Iraq.
According to information A.A correspondents have acquired within the last 15 days, families of five Turkish truck drivers and a translator reported that their relatives were either abducted or lost. One of these five people were later freed.
Families of Tahsin Top, who was taken hostage after he brought materials from southern province of Mersin to Iraq, and Teyfik Alkan, who went to Iraq on July 7th, could hear from neither Top nor Alkan.
On the other hand, families of Mustafa Koksal and Durmus Kumdereli, who were reported to be kidnapped on August 14th when they were in a restaurant in Mosul, stated that they had not received any information about Koksal or Kumdereli. However, Koksal returned to southern Tarsus town, where he was living.
Koksal told reporters that he was taken hostage for days, and said, ''I hope Durmus Kumdereli will also be freed, and return home.''
Relatives of Tahir Karaf, who went from southern Hatay province to Iraq, also said that they had not heard from Karaf for a long time.
Also, family of Aytullah Gezmen, who went from Hatay to Iraq to work as a translator, stated that they were looking forward to hearing from their son.
(BRC) 28.08.2004