Kidnapping of Turks on Rise in Iraq

The video released by the AP shows six masked men, three of whom are armed, standing behind three Turkish hostages. The kidnappers, who claim to be members of the "United Iraq Armed Resistance", can be seen carrying the former Iraqi flag. One of the masked men says, "We call upon the Muslim Turkish People to refuse to cooperate with the occupation forces, and to stand by their Iraqi Muslim brothers. Moreover, we ask the companies that are working with the occupation forces to cancel their contracts and withdraw their personnel from Iraq if they want the hostages to be released."

Elsewhere, Adnan Azizoglu and Tarkan Arikoglu along with their Turkmen driver were kidnapped in Fallujah and held captive for a short while. The three work for Ser-Ka, a company that provides logistical support for the U.S.’s Incirlik Air Base. Members of the outlawed terrorist organization Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) reportedly captured the men. The three were released yesterday evening without incident.

In addition to the above incidents, Turkmen businessman Ekrem Mohammed Necip, who made an agreement with the coalition forces to import goods from Turkey, was kidnapped as he left his office in Kerkuk (Kirkuk) yesterday evening.

Meanwhile in Baghdad, U.S. troops arrested two Turkish journalists. Cetin Ozcevik and Cebrail Coskun, who work for Associated Press TV News (APTN), were detained because U.S. soldiers suspected them of having explosives in their car. Reportedly, the journalists may be released today.

Finally, relatives of Bulent Yanik, the Turkish truck driver who was kidnapped last week, still anxiously await news of their loved one. Yanik’s relatives, who live in the village of Sicanli in Hatay’s Reyhanli district, the southern most part of Turkey, are spending most of their time next to the phone.