Turkish hostages seized by the Islamic State in Iraq more than three months ago were freed and safely returned Saturday, ending the most serious hostage crisis Turkey has experienced, reports The Washington Post.

Forty-nine hostages were released, including two small children and Ozturk Yilmaz, the Turkish consul general in Mosul, Iraq, said Turkish authorities. The release was accomplished without firing a gun, paying a ransom or offering a quid pro quo, said authorities.

As families joyously reunite with their loved ones, diplomats are raising questions about the release.

The official explanation “sounds a bit too good to be true,” said Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat who chairs the Istanbul-based Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies. “There are some very legitimate and unanswered questions about how this happened,” said Ulgen.

The hostages were seized from the Turkish Consulate in Mosul on June 11, after ISIS overran the city in northern Iraq. It is not clear how they traveled from Mosul to Turkey, and why ISIS would relinquish such a valuable bargaining chip.

Release of the hostages was the work of the Turkish intelligence agency rather than a special forces operation, said Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

“After intense efforts that lasted days and weeks, in the early hours our citizens were handed over to us and we brought them back,” said Davutoglu.

While captive, the hostages were forced to watch videos of other hostages being beheaded, said Yilmaz in a television interview late Saturday. “They liked to demoralize hostages,” said Yilmaz.

Although his group was not subjected to any physical violence, it was threatened with violence, said Yilmaz.

“Praise God, the 101-day circle of oppression and torment has ended,” said Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Turkish opposition nationalist party.

Turkey has been reluctant to join a coalition to defeat ISIS, citing the safety of its 49 kidnapped citizens. It is not clear whether the hostage release will change Turkish policy toward the militants.

While the Obama administration was pleased with Turkish contributions so far, it hoped the change in circumstances of the hostages would allow Turkey to take on a more robust role, said a U.S. official Saturday.