"Some of the soldiers were freed, some are still being held, efforts are continuing to have the others freed," Erdogan

ISTANBUL, July 6 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Some of the Turkish soldiers reportedly detained in northern Iraq by U.S. forces have been released, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday night, July 5, of the incident which has provoked a row between Turkey and its NATO ally the United States.

"Some of the soldiers were freed, some are still being held, efforts are continuing to have the others freed," Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Erdogan as saying.

The Turkish foreign ministry lodged Friday night, July 4, a protest note with the U.S. administration over American forces storming of the headquarters of Turkish special troops in the northern Iraqi city of As-Sulaymaniyah and the rounding up of 11 Turkish servicemen.

About 100 U.S. soldiers stormed Friday the local offices of the Turkish special forces in northern Iraq , cut the telephone lines and transferred them to the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on suspicions of plotting an attack on the Kurdish governor of Kirkuk .

The Turkish prime minister, however, did not specify how many soldiers were released, with reports from the Anatolia news agency saying 12 were detained.

But there were conflicting reports of the men's fate as Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul shortly afterwards contradicted this, saying they were being held in Baghdad .

Gul was quoted from a telephone conversation with his U.S. counterpart Colin Powell as saying that they were in the Iraqi capital, according to the Turkish television news channel NTV.

Powell reportedly told Gul that the Turkish troops "are in good health."

Erdogan was expected to meet in Ankara with a high-level delegation, which was sent to the region to investigate the soldiers' fate.

He reacted furiously to the U.S. raid, and was reported saying: "This is a repugnant incident that should never have happened."

Retaliation

The seizure of the personnel has provoked a diplomatic row between Turkey and the United States , with Turkey threatening unspecified retaliation for the alleged detentions, which as of late Saturday had not been confirmed officially by the United States .

Turkey warned it was contemplating retaliation after the three officers and eight non-commissioned officers were arrested.

Ankara could retaliate by increasing its military presence in the region, closing its airspace to U.S. planes flying missions in and out of Iraq , or terminating U.S. access to the Incirlik airbase in southern Turkey , NTV said.

He accused the United States of "behavior unworthy of two allied countries in a coalition," according to Anatolia news agency.

Some reports said that the Habur border post, the sole checkpoint between Turkey and Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq , was shut down early Saturday.

Washington and Ankara agreed on April 10 on deploying Turkish military observers in northern Iraq . A 30-strong Turkish unit was then sent there.

The U.S. assured Ankara that it would send reinforcements to Kirkuk to replace Kurdish forces who seized the city after the downfall of Baghdad.