ISTANBUL Gunmen released guests and staff unharmed on Monday after taking them hostage in a luxury Istanbul hotel in what they said was a protest against Russian military action in Chechnya, an Interior Ministry official said.

"The men have been taken to Istanbul Police Headquarters for questioning," the official told Reuters. The state-run Anatolian News Agency said police had detained 13 men.

Istanbul Police Chief Kazin Abanoz said 120 hostages were released and were in good condition, Anatolian said.

Methi Cetinbas of the Caucasus Association, a Chechen advocacy group based in Turkey, told reporters Turkish gunman Muhammet Emin Tokcan, who led the 1996 hijacking of a Russian Black Sea ferry in protest against Russian military activity in Chechnya, was among the attackers.

"The reason that this operation was chosen was to bring the attention of the world and the world media to what is happening in Chechnya," Cetinbas said after speaking with police.

Public sympathy for the Chechen cause is strong in overwhelmingly Muslim Turkey, where millions of Turks trace their bloodlines to the Caucasus region.

But politicians are mindful of the importance of trade and energy ties with a Russia that suspects Chechen rebels find assistance and support in Turkey.

Anatolian said six Austrians and three Britons were among the hostages.

(Reuter)

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