Turkish hostages held by Islamic State (IS) militants in northern Iraq were released by "rescue operation" and brought back early Saturday morning to Sanliurfa province in southern Turkey, private NTV news channel reported.

The 49 Turkish citizens, who were held hostage for more than 100 days by the IS militants, were kidnapped in Iraq but delivered in Syria, according to the report.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a written statement that the hostages' freedom was the result of a successful "operation."

"I thank the prime minister and his colleagues for this carefully planned, detailed and secret operation, which continued all night and successfully completed early morning," said the statement released by the presidential press office.

"Our National Intelligence Agency has followed the issue with patience and dedication, and finally performed a successful rescue operation," the statement added.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said earlier in the day the hostages "came to Turkey at 5 a.m. in the morning. We have followed the developments closely all night... This happy development prepared us for a beautiful morning...I am very proud to share this happy news."

Davutoglu, who is visiting Azerbaijan, said that he decided to shorten his trip to Baku and will meet the released Turkish hostages in southern Sanliurfa province bordering Syria.

A group of IS armed attackers took control of the Turkish consulate in Mosul in Iraq on June 11, and abducted 49, including the consul general, staff and their family members.

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