German hostages freed from PKK

Three German tourists kidnapped by militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, have reportedly been released. According to German’s foreign minister the trio are safe and in the custody of Turkish authorities.

They group, seized ten days ago, were part of a 13-member climbing team that had set up camp at Mount Ararat, a popular tourist destination. Their seizure came a month after Germany banned a Kurdish television station which the country’s interior minister said was a mouthpiece for the armed group.

The PKK had said they would not be freed unless Germany stopped its crackdown on the group which as been defined as a terrorist organisation by the US, EU and Turkey.

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