Dozens of foreigners freed in Iraq's Kirkuk - Turkish official

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A group of 44 foreign nationals including four Turkish citizens seized on Wednesday by tribal groups in the Iraqi oil hub of Kirkuk have been released, a Turkish foreign ministry official said on Thursday.

Ethnic Turkmens in the region helped secure the release of the group, which included Asian workers and engineers, without the need for a military operation, the official said. He did not have details of the nationalities involved.