ANKARA - A Turkish businessman held by militants in Iraq since January was freed on Wednesday and is now in the custody of Turkish diplomats in Baghdad, a senior Turkish official said.
Abdulkadir Tanrikulu "is now at the Turkish embassy in Baghdad and preparations are under way to bring him back," the diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Tanrikulu, who worked for a Turkish construction company, was kidnapped outside his Baghdad hotel on January 13 by men who machine-gunned a minibus full of his employees, killing all seven on board.
It was not clear who Tanrikulu's kidnappers were.
Turkey borders Iraq to the north, and its nationals have frequently fallen victim to the persistent violence in the war-torn country.
Around 90 Turks have been killed in recent months, most of them truck drivers caught in ambushes.
Many Turkish drivers have also been kidnapped in northern Iraq in the past, but most have been released.
06/29/2005 18:49 GMT