Turkish drivers reunite with their families in Mahmur

Turkish truck drivers, abducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, or ISIL, in Mosul in northern Iraq, were handed over to their families after their release on Thursday.

According to Kurdish officials, the truck drivers will be send back to Turkey through Arbil after stopping at the UN refugee camp with their families in Mahmur, nearly 100 km to Arbil province in North of Iraq.

The drivers and their families have been accompanied by Turkish and Kurdish officials on their way to Arbil, said the sources, adding that ISIL militants confiscated passports of the Turkish nationals.

Mustafa Tezdönen, a truck driver who was released, said one of the colleagues has suffered from a heart disease and he was in a serious condition, speaking to TVNet, a private TV channel.

The driver, who suffered from the heart disease, was taken to a health clinic in Arbil for treatment. There is no report on his condition yet.

The drivers were abducted as they were transporting fuel to a thermal power plant in Mosul. The drivers were captured by militants after ISIL raided the plant in the Gyarah region of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, where ISIL reportedly assumed full control. ISIL also kidnapped 49 Turkish consulate staff members in Mosul on June 11.