'Kind' gunmen hold hotel hostages for 12 hours

Waving weapons, but not neglecting to serve food and drinks, pro-Chechen gunmen held 120 people hostage for 12 hours in an Istanbul luxury hotel.

As the hostages emerged from Istanbul's Swissotel and boarded airport buses, Turkish officials were already counting the cost to their tourism industry.

The 13 gunmen said in a statement they had stormed the hotel in protest at Russia's attacks in the Caucasus, where Chechnya is located.

"Their only aim was to make the Chechen voice be heard and they asked to say goodbye to their guests" after surrendering their arms, said Mehdi Nusret Cetinbas, head of the Istanbul-based Caucasus Association.

Hostages confirmed they had not been treated badly.

"They didn't threaten us and offered us lots of refreshments," said Lefterios Polemis, a Greek tourist.

"We thought it was a robbery at first," said Italian tourist Franca Dalpiaga. "But after half an hour we realised it was political, they were very kind."

For Turkish Interior Minister Sadettin Tantan, who spoke to the gunmen through an intermediary and persuaded them to surrender, there was another key fear. Turkey could not condone the hostage-taking, "especially at the start of the tourist season," he said.

Hundreds of police, some wearing black ski masks, surrounded the hotel overlooking the scenic Bosporus straits after the gunmen burst into the lobby, causing guests to scream and run in panic.

There were 600 guests in the hotel at the time of the attack, said the hotel's owner, SAirGroup.

About 60 guests and 40 workers escaped, many leaving through fire exits, the Anatolia news agency reported. The gunmen had warned police saying if they intervened, it could turn into a mess.

But they urged police to stay calm, saying, "We don't have any intention to spill blood."