PKK releases 8 Turkish soldiers

by admin
Mar 12, 2013

The PKK released eight Turkish soldiers on Wednesday who had been held hostage in Northern Iraq for two years.

The release comes after the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called for prisoners to be released on both sides. 

A Kurdish politician, Husamettin Zemberlioglu confirmed that that the freed hostages had been received safely. Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister, Besir Atalay, welcomes their release as "a gesture of goodwill."

"The [peace] process is going just fine. There is big public support, expectation and hope," he added.

President Abdullah Gul said: "We are happy that our citizens who had been away from their country for so long, and from whom we had not received any news, are returning."

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