Forty Indian workers abducted in Iraq, no ransom call yet: MEA

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, June 18, 2014:  Forty Indian workers have been kidnapped by suspected militants of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) in Iraq’s Mosul city, confirmed the External Affairs Ministry on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference, ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has confirmed the abduction of 40 Indian nationals and the country has not received any ransom call yet. He added that no information regarding their whereabouts is available.

The abducted nationals are largely from northern part of India, especially Punjab, but I cannot be precise, added Akbaruddin.

Earlier in the day, the External Affairs Ministry had said that the 40 Indian workers remain "uncontactable".

Vowing to leave no stone unturned in their quest to help every singe Indian in Iraq, Akbaruddin, meanwhile, said about a hundred Indians are stuck in the Middle East country and a contingency unit is working in Delhi to tackle the situation.

It is not appropriate to take surface route to rescue Indians, the MEA spokesperson said, adding the contingency unit is mulling over a variety of options.

Al Qaeda-inspired militants have overrun the Iraqi cities of Mosul and Tikrit, threatening the security and territorial integrity of the country. They are proceeding towards Baghdad.

Meanwhile, the 46 Indian nurses - most of them from Kerala - who are stranded in Tikrit, have already been looked up by the Iraqi Red Crescent at the request of the Indian government, Akbaruddin said. He added that several of them prefer to stay back in Iraq.

He said the ministry has received 60 phone calls from families of Indians in Iraq since Tuesday evening.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has been monitoring and reviewing the situation on a regular basis, Akbaruddin said, adding Anil Wadhwa, Secretary (East), MEA, is spearheading maintaining contacts with international organisations.

Saying that India has no intention to shut down its embassy in Iraq, Akbaruddin said the country is, in fact, increasing its embassy’s effectiveness.

India’s former ambassador to Iraq, Suresh Reddy, will be sent to Baghdad to "assist the embassy in its efforts", said Akbaruddin.