More Turkish citizens kidnapped in Iraq

Iraqi militants have kidnapped 15 more Turkish citizens working on a construction site near Kirkuk in northern Iraq, media reported Wednesday.

A group of armed militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) raided the construction site of a hospital in northern Iraq Tuesday and kidnapped about 60 foreign workers, Xinhua cited Turkey's daily Hurriyet as quoting a kidnapped person who was later freed.

He said the kidnapped foreign workers also included Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Nepali and Turkmenistan nationals.

On Thursday, Turkey's foreign ministry urged its citizens in Iraq to leave the country immediately following the abduction of 80 Turkish citizens in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, capital of Nineveh province, by Iraqi militants.

Last Wednesday, a group of ISIL militants took control of Turkey's consulate in Mosul, and abducted 49 staff, including the consul-general, and their family members.

Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Turkish foreign ministry Wednesday said 31 Turkish nationals were also taken hostage by the same militant group from a power plant in the Gyarah region of Mosul and added that rescue efforts were underway.