A helicopter owned by an Afghan company made an emergency landing in a Taliban-controlled area of eastern Afghanistan and the insurgents took all nine people on board hostage, officials said today.

A cargo plane carrying Turkish workers crashed during landing at an airport near Baghdad, killing 30 people and injuring at least two, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has said 30 have been killed and two are injured in a cargo plane crash near Baghdad today.

Kidnappers have released a wealthy Turkish businessman after holding him hostage in Iraq for two months, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said today.