The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has released eight Turkish hostages as part of renewed peace talks aimed at ending three decades of hostility between the PKK and Turkey.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has released eight Turkish hostages as part of renewed peace talks aimed at ending three decades of hostility between the PKK and Turkey.

On Wednesday, the PKK freed six soldiers, a police officer and a local official in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk, Reuters reported.

The hostages were held captive in the mountains of northern Iraq for over a year.

"Their health is very good and a medical team has examined them," Baver Dersim, a senior member of the PKK told reporters invited to witness the handover, adding, "This operation is proof that we don't want war."

The hostages crossed the Turkish border and reunited with their families later.