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Gunmen Kidnap 18 Turkish Workers in Iraq

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Iraqi security forces guard the entrance to a sports complex being built by a Turkish construction company, in the Shiite district of Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015. Masked men in military uniforms kidnapped 18 Turkish workers and engineers working at the site in Baghdad at dawn Wednesday, bundling them into several SUVs and speeding away, Iraqis security officials said. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
Iraqi security forces guard the entrance to a sports complex where 18 Turkish workers were kidnapped by masked men in military uniforms, according to Iraqi security officials, in Baghdad, on Sept. 2, 2015.Khalid Mohammed—AP
By Justin Worland

Gunmen kidnapped 18 Turkish construction workers in Iraq Wednesday in what experts say could be retaliation for Turkey’s recent bombing campaigns against ISIS.

The kidnapping, reported by Reuters, occurred at a stadium construction site in the predominantly Shi’ite region of Habibiya. Gunmen in military garb entered the worksite at 3 a.m. local time while the construction workers slept in on-site trailers.

No one took immediate responsibility for the attack, but reports have identified ISIS militants as a potential culprit. The group kidnapped 46 Turkish citizens last year in Iraq before releasing them three months later. Last month, the extremist Sunni group described Turkey’s military efforts to defeat it as “selling the country to crusaders,” the BBC reports.

Officials in both Iraq and Turkey were said to be cooperating in the investigation.

[Reuters]

Peek Inside Kobani After Kurds Claim Victory Over ISIS

A Kurdish man stands in a destroyed building in the center of the Syrian border town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015.
A Kurdish man stands in a destroyed building in the center of the Syrian border town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
Street scene in Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015.
Street scene in Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
A Kurdish fighter speaks on the phone as one of his comrades walks past in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015.
A Kurdish fighter speaks on the phone as one of his comrades walks past in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
A Kurdish fighter walks through the wreckage of a building in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28. 2015.
A Kurdish fighter walks through the wreckage of a building in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28. 2015.Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
A Kurdish fighter walks with his child in the center of the Syrian border town of Kobani, Jan. 28, 2015.
A Kurdish fighter walks with his child in the center of the Syrian border town of Kobani, Jan. 28, 2015. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
A shell is used as a vase in the Syrian border town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015.
A shell is used as a vase in the Syrian border town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
An injured kurdish fighter sits near the site where a mortar shell landed in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015.
An injured Kurdish fighter sits near the site where a projectile landed in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
Kurdish fighters walk along a street in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015.
Kurdish fighters walk along a street in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
A fighter drives a car with heavy gun machine in the center of Kobani on Jan. 28. 2015.
A Kurdish fighter drives a truck with a heavy gun machine in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28. 2015.Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
A Kurd stands in a building as pigeons fly over in the center of Kobani, on Jan. 28, 2015.
A Kurd stands in a building as pigeons fly over in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images

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Write to Justin Worland at justin.worland@time.com