Abducted Turkey army officer released by Kurdish rebels

Ankara, June 22: A Turkish army officer, who was kidnapped by suspected Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) rebels, was released in southeastern province of Diyarbakir, media reported Sunday.

Ilhan Caliskan, 36, was kidnapped by a group of PKK militants when he was driving his vehicle from Lice town of Diyarbakir to northeastern Erzurum province May 26, Xinhua reported citing Daily Sabah newspaper.

He was released Saturday.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and some other countries, took up arms in 1984 to create an ethnic homeland for the Kurds in southeastern Turkey. More than 40,000 people have been killed in conflicts involving the PKK.

IANS