MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov on Sunday said Russian special forces freed hostages that were held in a Turkish mosque in Mariupol.

"A special operation to free hostages, who were held in Turkish mosque by Ukrainian Nazis, was conducted on April 16 during offensive actions to liberate Mariupol and at the request of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan," the spokesman said.

Konashenkov said thanks to selfless actions by a Russian special forces team the mosque was unblocked and 29 militants, including foreign mercenaries, were killed. "The hostages, who are citizens of one of the CIS countries, were freed and taken to a safe location," he said.