Three German climbers taken hostage by Kurdish armed rebel group the PKK have been freed and are in the hands of the Turkish government, officials say.
The tourists were seized from their camp on Mount Ararat in Turkey's eastern Agri province on 9 July.
The PKK vowed not to release them unless Germany renounced its crackdown on the group, defined as a terrorist organisation by the US, EU and Turkey.
"We have Turkey reach Euro-champ quarter-final ...
Turkish army says air strikes killed over 150 PKK rebels ... the German mountaineers," a Turkish government spokesman said.
Foreign ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin said details of the operation would be announced later by the governor of Agri Province.
The Germans were part of a 13-member climbing team that had set up camp at 3,200m (10,500ft) on the mountain, the highest in Turkey and a popular tourist destination.
Their seizure came a month after Germany banned a Kurdish television station which the country's interior minister said was a mouthpiece for the armed group.
Germany also extradited two PKK militants to Turkey last year.
Turkey has in recent months stepped up its campaign against PKK bases in northern Iraq, in response to an increase in attacks by the group.
The PKK seeks autonomy for Kurds in south-eastern Turkey. More than 30,000 people have been killed since the group began its armed campaign in 1984.
(BBC)
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