Only jihadists kidnapped in northern Iraq Turkish truck drivers, they stormed the Turkish consulate in Mosul and took dozens of hostages. Ankara is drawn into the conflict in the neighboring country.

It is the nightmare of the Turkish government. For years, fears Ankara to be drawn into the struggle of Islamic extremists.

Now was the scenario becomes reality: On Tuesday, members of the Sunni terror group “Islamic State in Iraq and Syria” (Isis) took 28 Turkish truck driver hostage in their advance on Mosul in Iraq. On Wednesday stormed the Turkish Consulate extremists in the city and also took dozens of hostages there.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu threatened the kidnappers with consequences. Should anything happen to the displaced something that everyone who was involved in the hostage-taking must reckon with “hard retribution,” said Davutoglu, who telephoned because of incidents with his U.S. counterpart John Kerry. No one should make the strength of Turkey to the test. Ankara has convened an emergency session of NATO.

Turkish media reported, citing the environment of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, it would be overall “14 to 15 employees” were kidnapped, including the Consul General Ozturk Yilmaz itself Others call the number of 48 or 49 hostages, including “at least three children” and Turkish special forces, which are responsible for the security of the diplomatic mission.

From the Foreign Ministry in Ankara stated that the hostages had been taken to the Isis headquarters in Mosul, a military base, the Islamists had recently conquered. You have to contact to “certain militant groups,” the Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed government source. An employee of the Foreign Ministry told media, you assume “that all our colleagues are doing well and come free as soon as possible.”

Since Tuesday, the phone connection was working for the consulate in Mosul, not more, but you have to reach General Yilmaz on his mobile phone. Yilmaz is considered crisis-proven diplomat, recently he had escaped a bomb attack in which 80 kilometers east of Mosul, located Kurdish city of Erbil.

Terror In Iraq:”A threat to the entire region”

Erdogan convened a crisis meeting with a security experts, including employees of the intelligence service MIT. Foreign Minister Davutoglu interrupted a trip to the U.S., as the Turkish state television TRT reported. President Abdullah Gül criticized, there had been in Iraq a “vulnerability”. “Such gaps must not let that happen. If they allow, they are filled with such people.”

Attentive took politicians in Ankara note that the Iraqi government wanted to cooperate with Kurdish troops to expel the Isis fighters from the region. A parliamentarian of the ruling party said Isis stelle “a threat not only for Iraq but for the entire region” dar. Mosul is only about 150 kilometers from the border with Turkey away. “We have to think fast as we respond.”

Terror In Iraq:Erdogan is openly supporting Assad’s opponents

So far, Turkey had suspected an attack by Isis rather from Syria. Last September it was Isis rebels example, succeeded in taking the northern Syrian city of Asa, just three kilometers from the border with Turkey.

Following the outbreak of violence in Syria, Turkey had placed himself on the side of the opposition and the Free Syrian Army. The parliament in Ankara has agreed plans to send troops to Syria, the national security of Turkey should be threatened. Since the outbreak of the civil war three years ago, are the friends of yore, Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad enemies.

Critics accuse Erdogan in front to make themselves Islamism in the region feed by his support for fundamentalist fighters in Syria against Assad. The human rights organization Human Rights Watch claims that Islamists would seep through Turkey to Syria, they concern money and weapons from there. In addition, injured jihadists in Turkey would be treated medically. Indirectly Turkey promotes thus war crimes. Erdogan has rejected this accusation. We do not support extremists, if only out of self interest.

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