There is no information that the Turkish soldier who went missing after crossing the border into Syria during an anti-smuggling operation was captured by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the General Staff has stated.

The noncommissioned officer, identified only as Özgür Ö., went missing on Jan. 1 after crossing into Syria from the southeastern Turkish province of Kilis while chasing smugglers.

The General Staff confirmed that the officer was missing, stating that all authorities, including the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MİT), were working to find the soldier.

“A thorough investigation is under way. But a cross-border operation has not taken place,” it told private broadcaster CNN Türk.

The security forces are reportedly focusing on ISIL militants or the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which has been fighting against the ISIL jihadists in Syria, as potentially responsible for the missing Özgür Ö.

Some 46 Turkish citizens and three Iraqi staff members were kidnapped on June 11 last year by ISIL after the jihadists seized control of Mosul. The hostages were freed after 101 days following a secret operation conducted by the MİT on Sept. 20, 2014.

Hurriyet Daily News