ISIL kidnaps Turkish consul, 24 others in Iraq: Police

Islamist militants seized the Turkish consulate in the Iraqi city of Mosul on June 11 and kidnapped the head of the diplomatic mission and 24 staff members, a police colonel said.

"ISIL members managed to kidnap the Turkish consul and 24 of his guards and assistants," the officer said, referring to powerful jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), AFP reported.

The ISIL, which continued its offensive in northern Iraq on June 11, stormed the Turkish Consulate in Mosul at noon, according to media reports.

Al Jazeera Turkish reported that militants took diplomats hostage and brought them to the ISIL headquarters in the city.

"Certain militant groups in Mosul have been directly contacted to ensure the safety of diplomatic staff," a Turkish government source was quoted as saying by Reuters. He added there was no immediate information on the status of the diplomats.

Efforts are under way to ensure the safety of diplomatic staff, two Turkish government sources told Reuters.

Turkey's Mosul Consul
General Öztürk Yılmaz

Media outlets affiliated with Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani's Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party reported that ISIL had hit the consulate, but added that the diplomats were "evacuated and now safe." "They attacked the Turkish consulate at noon. A group of consulate staff left the building as hostages. The Turkish consul was a person who was frequently visiting the Governor's Office in Mosul," Bashar Kiki, the speaker of the Mosul Provincial Assembly, said during a live program on Kurdistan TV.

A Turkish Foreign Ministry official has said the reports "have yet to be confirmed, but they are looking into them," according to...