The trio, who were snatched on February 15 when five gunmen stormed their house south of the city, said they were only given food every alternate day, were verbally abused, and physically tortured while in captivity.

"Joint security forces comprising the army and police, with the aerial support of US forces, have released three Turkish nationals who were kidnapped," Major General Torhan Abdulrahman, Kirkuk province's deputy police chief, told AFP.

"They were kidnapped by Ansar al-Sunna, who were in contact with the Turkish embassy and government and demanded a ransom of $1.5 million," he added. But no ransom was paid.

He was referring to the Sunni insurgent group that formed in 2003 out of Ansar al-Islam, created in 2001 by veterans of the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan.

Abdulrahman said security forces were still on the lookout for the kidnappers, and added that the three Turks would soon be examined by doctors before being moved to the Turkish mission in the northern city of Mosul.

Ali Hekmat Rajab, one of the victims, told AFP that he and his countrymen were only brought food on alternate days.

"They tortured us, and they insulted us," he said. "They told us that if the Turkish government did not pay the ransom, they would kill us."

The other two men were named as Mutlab Kadak and Baktiar Karaj.

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