(MENAFN- Arab News) BAGHDAD: Sixteen Turkish workers abducted in Baghdad earlier this month have appeared in an online video promising their release days after the United Nations backed a deal to extricate Syrian villagers under siege from rebels supported by Ankara.
The men were kidnapped on Sept. 2 from a stadium they were building on the outskirts of the capital along with two others who were released earlier in the southern city of Basra.
The video released late on Sunday showed the men sitting below the same slogan clean-shaven and wearing T-shirts.
A Turkish official confirmed the identities of the men and said the government was continuing its efforts for their release.
In the video one of the Turks reads a statement in Arabic saying the captors had treated them humanely.
'We hope on this holy day of Eid Al-Adha that Erdogan will not repeat (his actions) and will respect the innocent people of Iraq and Syria' the man said referring to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
The video closes with a warning against breaking promises. It makes no new demands and sets no timeline for the Turks' release.
It is not clear which group is responsible for the kidnapping.