Two Turkish hostages freed in Iraq

Two Turkish hostages kidnapped in Iraq have been freed, Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite TV channel reported Wednesday.

Al-Jazeera said that a militant group linked to al-Qaida ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi released the two Turks it was holding because their company decided to stop working in Iraq.

"Due to the Turkish company's decision to stop sending supplies to US forces in Iraq, the Tawhid and Jihad (Unity and Holy War) decided to free the two Turkish hostages," said a videotaped statement from the group broadcast on the channel.

On Tuesday, Ankara-based Turkish Bilintur company vowed to withdraw its personnel from Iraq after one of its drivers Murat Yuce was shot dead by his captors in Iraq.

Bilintur said in a statement that it had decided to withdraw its personnel from Iraq so as not to put at risk the life of the second personnel who might have been abducted together with the killed driver.

The company serves as a subcontractor of a Jordanian firm that works in Iraq.

Following Yuce's execution, Istanbul-based International Transporters' Association (UND) also decided to stop ferrying US cargo to Iraq.

The association said it was suspending deliveries to US forces in Iraq in hope that kidnappers would release other two Turkish drivers they were holding.

The move deals a heavy blow to a supply route that US forces have used for deliveries of food and fuel.

Meanwhile, the Association of Lorry and Bus Drivers Chairman Reslan Tabur on Tuesday urged Turkish drivers not to go to Iraq until chaos ends or the Turkish army can assure the security.

Tabur noted that Turkish drivers did not earn much money from transporting goods to Iraq while risking their lives.

Instead, he suggested that Turkish drivers should go to Iraq under the protection of the Turkish armed forces.

"A safe and secure zone controlled by the Turkish army should be established in an area close to the border to help Turkish drivers unload their cargo there. And Americans should take those goods from that area and distribute them," he said.

"As the United States is involved in this job, it has the responsibility to make trade secure," he stressed.

However, another Turkish haulage group on Tuesday challenged UND's decision to stop delivering goods to Iraq, insisting that 50,000 Turkish families make a living out of the route.