Abducted Turkish drivers released after diplomacy traffic

32 Turkish truck drivers, who were abducted by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, while they were transporting fuel to a thermal power plant in Mosul on June 10, were released on Thursday after 23 days of captivity

Militants from ISIL, an al-Qaida offshoot, dropped off the hostages at a UN refugee camp near Mahmur district of Mosul, where Turkish officials greeted them.

The drivers were taken by the Peshmerga and Turkish Special Forces to Erbil, where a Turkish Airlines plane was waiting to bring them back to Turkey.

Mehmet Akif Inam, Turkish Consul General in Erbil, received the drivers at Mahmur governor's office Thursday afternoon. They were brought to Sanliurfa, a south-eastern city of Turkey.

The Turkish National Intelligence Agency, or MIT carried out a deep backyard diplomacy with Arab tribes and ISIL, to rescue the hostages.

After hostage crisis, MIT launched a direct negotiation with the most effective Arab tribe, the Juburis, as well as 2 other tribes.

Turkish officials tried to calm down the drivers during the first contact that was made on the phone on June 13.

'We are negotiating for you, we need some time to get you back. The state is with you, don't worry, we are following,' said the officials.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that he had followed the operation conducted for the release of Turkish truck drivers, for 23 days round the clock.

'Within the framework of MIT undersecretary's efforts, we have received some positive results the other night, but we waited for the final result,'

'We did not make any statements until it was certain that all drivers were free and safe. Therefore, I gladly inform that our 32 truck drivers were freed and taken by our Erbil consulate general,' Davutoglu said.

The militants also seized 49 people from the Turkish consulate in Mosul three days later the abduction of the truck drivers last month. Though there was no immediate word on any release for them, MIT has kept on negotiating.