Turkish workers abducted in Baghdad

The 18 workers are employed by Nurol Insaat, a Turkish construction company contracted to build a sports complex in the eastern Sadr City area. The district is a stronghold of pro-government Shiite militias battling the "Islamic State" (IS) jihadist group.

The kidnapping took place at dawn on Wednesday, as workers were sleeping in caravans at the site. The kidnappers broke down doors and disarmed the guards, before taking away the workers in several SUVs, Iraqi security officials said.

A Turkish foreign ministry spokesman said that Turkish nationals were specifically picked out from the other nationals who worked at the site. Ankara said it was in constant contact with Iraq authorities over the abductions.

The identity or motives of the kidnappers was not immediately known.

The abductions happened just a few weeks after Turkey began launching airstrikes against IS militants in northern Iraq.

The Turkish government has also permitted US warplanes to use bases in southeastern Turkey to strike against the extremist group.

Last month, Islamic State released a statement accusing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of "selling the country to crusaders."

Last year, IS seized 46 Turkish citizens in Mosul and kept them in captivity for more than three months.

Although kidnappings were commonplace during the years that followed the US-led invasion of Iraq, in recent times, the number of abductions has fallen.

In 2006 and 2007, sectarian violence saw Sunni and Shiite militants regularly kidnap followers of the other sect. Their bodies were often found a day or two later, having been tortured and shot in the head.

Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus also said on Wednesday that no contact had been established with a Turkish soldier who went missing following an exchange of gunfire on Turkey's border with Syria. Another soldier was killed in the shooting, which started from "Islamic State"-held territory, on the Syrian side.

mm/kms (AFP, AP, Reuters)