PKK releases 8 kidnapped Turkish public officials in northern Iraq: TV report

 • The outlawed PKK released eight kidnapped Turkish public officials in northern Iraq  Wednesday. 

 • The kidnapped officials will meet with their families at Zaho region of northern Iraq and then enter Turkey.

 • The release came amidst ongoing peace talks between the government and the PKK.

ANKARA, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) released eight kidnapped Turkish public officials in northern Iraq on Wednesday, Turkey's NTV news channel reported.

The captives were handed over to a delegation including two pro- Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputies and nongovernmental organization representatives at an undefined meeting point in northern Iraq, said the report.

Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government officials accompanied the delegation.

The kidnapped officials, including district governor candidate, police officers and soldiers, will meet with their families at Zaho region of northern Iraq and then enter Turkey through Habur border gate, according to report.

The release came amidst ongoing peace talks between the government and the PKK as part of the government's latest effort to disarm the PKK through dialogue.

At a recent meeting with Kurdish politicians from the BDP, jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan signaled that the PKK may release the kidnapped public officials.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and most of the international community, took up arms in 1984 in an attempt to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey.

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