Belgium thanks Turkey for reuniting abducted girl, mom

Belgium on Thursday thanked Turkish officials for reuniting a Belgian girl -- kidnapped by her father and held in isolation in Syria -- with her mother after two years.

Following the death of the five-year-old Moroccan-origin Belgian girl's father in December 2017, Turkish security and intelligence units stepped in and brought the girl to Turkey, according to a statement by the Belgian Embassy in Ankara.

In the statement, Michel Malherbe, Belgian ambassador to Ankara, conveyed his gratitude to the Turkish authorities for their "constructive attitude and contributions" for reaching an uplifted conclusion.

Belgium's Foreign Minister Didier Reynders thanked his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu over the phone on Wednesday, it added.

The governor's office of Turkey's southern Hatay province had also issued a statement on the issue saying that the girl was brought to Turkey Monday evening, and that she will return to Belgium following legal proceedings at the provincial migration office.