BERLIN
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has welcomed the rescue of the Turkish hostages in Mosul.
Speaking on Saturday, he said: "For three long months they were held by terrorists and were permanently afraid for their lives."
Around Europe, the media reacted to the rescue of the 46 hostages from the hands of ISIL.
In the U.K. the BBC commented on the "huge relief" felt in Turkey at the return of the captives.
Sky News TV said they were released in a "secretly conducted operation throughout the night." The story was also covered by national dailies the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror.
In Germany, Bild noted that the hostage situation had prevented Turkey from joining an international coalition against ISIL.
Spiegel Online quoted Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as saying the hostages were rescued following months of hard work while Die Welt also carried an article.
The Austrian Press Agency carried the headline 'Turkish hostages have been freed' while the Kurier, Der Standard and Die Presse newspapers focussed on the Turkish intelligence service's rescue operation.
In Switzerland, news agency SDA reported on the rescue while the Italian media also carried numerous articles. News wire service ANSA detailed how the hostages "including diplomats, soldiers and babies" were saved by intelligence officers.
AGI, another major news agency quoted Davutoglu and Adnkronos news agency also reported the story. RaiNews24 TV station broadcast the rescue early in the morning as breaking news and the Vatican Radio welcomed the rescue as a positive development.
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