Turkish soldier missing on Syria border brought back home

A Turkish soldier who went missing on the border with Syria has been brought home, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced on Twitter on Monday.

"We've brought back to the country a short time ago our officer who was abducted while on a mission against smugglers on the border with Syria," Davutoglu said.

Davutoglu said only that the soldier was rescued thanks to a "successful operation" carried out by the Turkish spy agency.

Ozgur Ors, a non-commissioned officer, went missing on Thursday after he crossed the border into Syria from the southeastern Turkish province of Kilis in an operation to capture a group of smugglers.

In a statement quoted by the Turkish media on Monday, the army confirmed Ors was missing but said there was "no information" to suggest that the soldier had been kidnapped by Islamic State insurgents.

There was speculation in the press that the soldier might have been kidnapped by IS militants who have seized swathes of Iraq and Syria, or another militant group.

In June, ISIS seized 49 Turks, including diplomats and their children, from the Turkish consulate in the Iraqi city of Mosul. Those hostages were released in September after more than three months in captivity.
AFP
 http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/119570.aspx
5/1/14
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• A Turkish army officer, who was abducted on Jan. 1 while on duty along the Turkish-Syrian border, has been brought back to Turkey, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday....