Turkey rejected on Sunday the demands of militants threatening to behead three Turks held hostage in Iraq during US President George W. Bush's visit to Turkey and on the eve of the formal start of Iraqi self-rule.
Militants loyal to suspected al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi said in a statement to Al Jazeera television on Saturday that the three hostages would be executed within 72 hours unless Turks stopped working with US-led forces in Iraq.
"Turkey has been fighting terrorist activity for more than 20 years," Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul told reporters in Istanbul. "They ask many things, they demand many things. We never consider them with seriousness."
Jazeera showed footage of the three hostages crouching in front of masked gunmen and holding up their passports.
Turkey is not part of the US-led force in Iraq but many nationals work as drivers and support staff for US forces.
Zarqawi's group beheaded a South Korean hostage last week after Seoul rejected a demand to withdraw its forces from Iraq and last month decapitated a US captive. Both killings were filmed in footage posted on Web sites.