It seems the growing Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) storm has finally broken. News of Iraq’s disintegration rang alarm bells in Turkey, which just last week declared ISIS a terrorist organisation.

Turkey has become increasingly wary of ISIS, which controls three border crossings between Turkey and Syria. ISIS has expanded rapidly over the last year, now adding the areas of eastern and northern Syria as well as western and northern Iraq to their control. Earlier this year they were disowned by al-Qaeda’s central command following struggles with Jabhat al-Nusra rebels, which is al-Qaeda’s official Syrian wing. That did not dampen their activities, and on Monday they had their biggest success to date, capturing the city of Mosul in northern Iraq.

When ISIS entered Mosul, the northern capital of Iraq, most of the soldiers abandoned their post and left the city and their military equipment to the invading group. A total of 1,400 prisoners were released from prison and the roads leading out of Mosul were filled with refugees heading towards Kurdish-held territory.

What was worrying for Turkey was that phone lines to the Turkish consulate in Mosul were cut. Ankara was still able to communicate with Consul Öztürk Yılmaz through his cell phone.

The following day, 32 Turkish truck drivers were abducted carrying diesel from Turkey’s southeastern port of İskenderun to a power plant in Mosul. Reports say that they were taken into custody as their trucks ran into ISIS militants. Late on Tuesday evening, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu tweeted that he had received confirmation that the truckers were safe and sound.

He later added that necessary measures had been taken for the safety of the consulate staff in Mosul. However, between 08:30 and 09:00 on 6 June, there was an explosion as ISIS militants blew up the governor’s house before entering the consulate building.

Turkish citizens, including the consul, consulate staff, women, children and reportedly security staff were taken to a power station in Mosul. Exact numbers were difficult to establish, with some news organisations reporting 32 and others 49.

Islamic State Media, the Twitter account that claims to be the social media mouthpiece of ISIS, posted: “The Turkish consul and 42 diplomats with him were arrested by ISIS Ninawa”, adding that the nationals had not been kidnapped. “They are only [being]taken to a safe location and until the investigation procedures are completed”, Islamic State Media wrote.

Turkey immediately responded by promising retaliation if any of the Turkish nationals were hurt by the group. Davutoğlu told media outlets:

“No one should test Turkey’s resolve.”

The Foreign Ministry released a report stating that 49 Turkish nationals had been taken into custody and emergency meetings were called between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President Abdullah Gül, the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), Undersecretary Hakan Fidan and the Chief of General Staff’s Operations Department Lt. Gen. Erdal Öztürk.

Turkey then asked NATO for a meeting. Interestingly, they did not invoke Article 4, which is the designated response in cases of national threat. The United Kingdom has expressed support for Turkey but ruled out any military assistance, as has the US, which likewise has pushed responsibility onto the Iraqi forces.

The response from Turkey was convoluted. Under legislation enacted to deal with Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) violence, the Turkish military has permission to perform cross-border operations in northern Iraq until 1 October. However, reports from the Justice Minister today stated that the government was not working on a mandate for military intervention in Iraq following assurances from ISIS that the Turkish nationals were safe and sound.

Around midday on 12 June, it was reported that the truck drivers had been released, only to be taken hostage by another group demanding $50 million (£30 million) ransom.

At the time of writing, Turkish officials have not confirmed that the 80 hostages held by ISIS in Mosul have been released. Negotiations are ongoing.

The threat of an Iraqi reprisal is slim. Despite a force of 900,000 armed soldiers, the army is more of an employment structure than a well trained fighting force.

For the Turkish government this will provide yet another headache. Some commentators in local media are already criticising the government for allowing the situation to deteriorate so dramatically. First, for lacking intelligence about the forthcoming attack on Mosul and failing to evacuate Turkish nationals from the region, and second, for the threat to Turkish security.

One commentator on the Hürriyet Daily News website wrote:

“If Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had not opened our border so widely in order to topple [President] Bashar al-Assad in Syria, it would not have been possible for such organizations to gain strength in the region.”

It seems the neo-Ottoman “zero-problems policy,” which Davutoğlu has presided over since 2009, has not lived up to its ambitions. The violence in Iraq is not new and Iraq has been beset by instability for years, but the abduction of Turkish nationals is significant and suggests that a stronger position needs to be adopted by Turkey.