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Militants Seize Turkish Consulate Staff in Iraqi City Militants Seize Turkish Consulate Staff in Iraqi City
(about 2 hours later)
ISTANBUL — The Turkish government reacted with alarm on Wednesday to the seizure of the country’s consul general and his staff by militants in Mosul, Iraq, and mounted an intense diplomatic effort in the region and beyond to win their release. Analysts said they expected the government to take swift action. ISTANBUL — The Turkish government reacted with alarm on Wednesday to the seizure of the country’s consul general and his staff by militants in Mosul, Iraq, vowing to retaliate if any of its citizens are injured.
Turkey, a NATO ally of the United States, backs the opposition in the Syrian civil war, but it is no friend of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, the militant group that has now taken control of both eastern Syria and northwestern Iraq, areas that border Turkey. In the early part of the conflict in Syria, Turkey allowed radical fighters to cross those borders freely, but it reversed that policy recently after it became clear that instead of concentrating on toppling President Bashar al-Assad, the militants were carving out their own state and fighting against more moderate opposition forces. “Our primary objective is to bring our nationals home in safety,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in a statement from New York. “No one should try to test the limits of Turkey’s strength.”
Turkey’s relations with Iraq have been strained by sectarian tensions and by Turkey’s conflict with Kurdish separatists, which has often spilled across the border into the part of northern Iraq ruled autonomously by Kurds. Forty-nine Turkish citizens from the consulate — staff members and their families, including three children — were being held hostage in Mosul, the Foreign Ministry said in a written statement. Among them are diplomats, support workers and special forces soldiers. The consul general, Ozturk Yilmaz, is a former adviser to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and an expert on the region. The consulate was raided by members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or ISIS, the radical group that has been making sweeping territorial gains in northern and western Iraq in recent days.
A Turkish Foreign Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity under diplomatic rules, said that Turkish officials were in close contact with the Iraqi government, the regional Kurdish administration and the United States as they sought ways to free the diplomats and consular workers seized in Mosul. Another group of 31 Turks — truck drivers who were delivering fuel to a power plant in Mosul — was seized by ISIS militants on Tuesday, officials said.
An official in the office of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who likewise spoke on condition of anonymity, said that 48 people at the consulate had been taken hostage, including diplomats, guards, support workers, and three children. She said the militants tried to break in to the consulate in the early hours Wednesday, and at first the consular staff resisted and refused to let them in. “This confrontation continued for quite a while, and ended when militants with long-range heavy arms threatened to bomb the place,” the official said. The militants attacked the consulate in the early hours of Wednesday, and at first the consular staff resisted and refused to open the building’s doors, according to a Turkish official who spoke on condition of anonymity under diplomatic rules. After a long standoff, the insurgents threatened to bomb the building and the group inside surrendered, the official said, adding that the militants allowed the special forces soldiers to keep their weapons. The hostages were taken to an improvised ISIS headquarters in Mosul, the official said.
She said the people who were seized were being held at a temporary ISIS headquarters in the July 14 neighborhood of Mosul. Turkey, a NATO ally of the United States, backs the opposition in the Syrian civil war, but it is no friend to ISIS, which has now taken control of large areas in both eastern Syria and northwestern Iraq that border Turkey. In the early part of the conflict in Syria, Turkey allowed radical fighters to cross its borders freely, but it reversed that policy recently after it became clear that instead of concentrating on toppling President Bashar al-Assad, the militants were carving out their own state in Syria and clashing with more moderate opposition forces.
Mr. Erdogan held an emergency meeting Wednesday with top national security officials, his office said. The country’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, cut short a trip to New York and was flying back to Ankara, the capital, to deal with the crisis. Turkey’s relations with Iraq have been strained by sectarian tensions and by Turkey’s conflict with Kurdish separatists, which have often spilled across the border into the part of northern Iraq ruled autonomously by Kurds.
“Our primary objective is to bring our nationals home in safety,” Mr. Davutoglu told a Turkish television network. “Nobody should test Turkey.” He said that his ministry had sent an evacuation advisory to the consulate as the situation there worsened, but had left it to the consul general, Ozturk Yilmaz, to make a final decision. A person close to ISIS posted a message on Twitter denying that the group had kidnapped Turkish citizens. “Turks are not kidnapped,” the person wrote, using the Twitter handle Dawla_NewsMedia. “They are only taken to a safe location and until the investigations procedures are completed.” The authenticity of the message was verified by the Turkish prime minister’s office.
Sinan Ulgen, the chairman of EDAM, an Istanbul-based research group, said that the government would face mounting pressure to stage a rescue operation to free the diplomats, as well as a rising risk of extremist attacks within Turkey. “Ankara is facing a serious conundrum,” he said. “First objective should be to free the diplomats, which must not be easy, given the conscious and planned attack on the consulate in Mosul.” Reached on his mobile phone, one of the Turkish truck drivers who were taken hostage Tuesday confirmed that 21 of the drivers were being held at a power plant in Mosul and had not been injured, though some were sick with fear and anxiety. The remaining drivers were taken somewhere else, he said, speaking on condition that he not be named.
Mr. Ulgen said the seizure was probably in retaliation for Ankara’s closing the border to the militants. “This policy has fed these groups since 2011, and the shift disappointed them,” he said. “They may already have the ability to retaliate within Turkey, with already established cells and networks since 2011, which is the biggest security threat.” “We are trying to cooperate with hope that we will be released soon,” the driver said. “We are praying that we will be saved.”
Turkish news media reported late on Wednesday that members of ISIS had demanded $5 million in ransom from the trucking company where the drivers work.
Mr. Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, held a round of emergency meetings with senior figures in his government to discuss how to deal with the situation, and Mr. Davutoglu, the foreign minister, cut short his trip to New York and flew back to Ankara, the Turkish capital, on Wednesday, their offices said.
A Turkish Foreign Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Turkish diplomats were in contact with the Iraqi government, with the regional administration in the Kurdish-controlled part of Iraq east of Mosul, and with the United States, seeking ways to free the hostages. The ministry later released a statement saying that the country had also been in contact with NATO and the United Nations.
Sinan Ulgen, chairman of EDAM, an Istanbul-based research group, said that the government would face mounting pressure to stage a rescue operation to free the diplomats, as well as a rising risk of extremist attacks within Turkey. “Ankara is facing a serious conundrum,” he said. “First objective should be to free the diplomats, which must not be easy, given the conscious and planned attack on the consulate in Mosul.”
Even so, the Foreign Ministry statement on Wednesday said, “It must be understood by all that we will not remain silent in the face of these unacceptable developments and that we will do whatever is necessary.”
Mr. Ulgen said the seizure of the consular workers was probably in retaliation for Ankara’s closing the border to the militants. “This policy has fed these groups since 2011, and the shift disappointed them,” he said. “They may already have the ability to retaliate within Turkey, with already established cells and networks since 2011, which is the biggest security threat.”
Other analysts saw the attack as more opportunistic than vengeful. Aaron Stein, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a research group in Britain, said, “Essentially what the militants are doing is asserting control over the territory, and the Turkish consulate represented an easy target, so it seems that they took advantage of circumstances that were available to them on the ground.”Other analysts saw the attack as more opportunistic than vengeful. Aaron Stein, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a research group in Britain, said, “Essentially what the militants are doing is asserting control over the territory, and the Turkish consulate represented an easy target, so it seems that they took advantage of circumstances that were available to them on the ground.”
He and Mr. Ulgen both noted that modern Turkey had never before had its diplomats taken hostage. “This is a serious political problem that has no good answers,” Mr. Stein said. “The circumstances for the rescue operation are so daunting, and the sheer scale of what it will take to get these people is so large, that they will opt for negotiations, either directly” with the ISIS militants “or with some third party, maybe one of the Gulf states or one of the other groups on the ground.”He and Mr. Ulgen both noted that modern Turkey had never before had its diplomats taken hostage. “This is a serious political problem that has no good answers,” Mr. Stein said. “The circumstances for the rescue operation are so daunting, and the sheer scale of what it will take to get these people is so large, that they will opt for negotiations, either directly” with the ISIS militants “or with some third party, maybe one of the Gulf states or one of the other groups on the ground.”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry official said the rapid-fire developments in Iraq had grown out of the West’s failure to adequately support moderate rebel groups in Syria, a complaint Turkey has long raised.The Turkish Foreign Ministry official said the rapid-fire developments in Iraq had grown out of the West’s failure to adequately support moderate rebel groups in Syria, a complaint Turkey has long raised.
“The continuation of the regime in Syria gave way to a power vacuum in several areas, which was filled by radical groups, and ultimately spilled over to Iraq,” the official said.“The continuation of the regime in Syria gave way to a power vacuum in several areas, which was filled by radical groups, and ultimately spilled over to Iraq,” the official said.