20 Turkish customs officers kidnapped by PKK freed

Twenty Turkish customs officers abducted by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in August were freed on Tuesday, an official from a human rights group told local Hurriyet News.

A group formed by members from the Human Rights Association (IHD) and a sub-union of the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions took the kidnapped officers from northern Iraq on Tuesday, said Ozturk Turkdogan, head of the IHD.

The group was on its way to Turkey and expected to enter the country through the Habur border crossing.

The move came less than a month after the PKK militants kidnapped more than a dozen customs officers in two separate offensives, one in the southeastern province of Hakkari and another in the eastern province of Van.

Source: XINHUA