Turkey frees 49 hostages captured by ISIS

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Saturday that 49 hostages captured by the Islamic militant group ISIS had been freed. It was not immediately clear how Turkish intelligence services secured their release, though Davutoglu said they were "handed over" and then returned to Turkish soil.

"I am sharing a joyful news which as a nation we have been waiting for," Davutoglu said. "After intense efforts that lasted days and weeks, in the early hours our citizens were handed over to us and we brought them back to our country.

ISIS abducted the captives during a June raid on the Turkish Consulate in Mosul, Iraq. Turkey has held off on joining the nascent U.S. led coalition warring with ISIS, citing its hostages.

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