Iraq: Indian nurses held captive by ISIS freed, says Red Cross

The International Red Cross has confirmed to CNN-IBN that the Indian nurses in Iraq have been freed by the ISIS. Earlier in the day, Kurdish government sources had told CNN-IBN that the nurses are expected to be dropped off at Erbil airport in an hour. CNN-IBN also reports that the nurses have been asked to switch-off their mobile phones. The external affairs ministry is yet to make an official confirmation. One of the nurses, Sayona from Palakkad had spoken to her father at around noon and informed him that they were about to be transported to Erbil. “They asked us to get ready in five minutes,” she told her father. He also said that there was no pressure on them and had been no ill treatment by the rebels. [caption id=“attachment_1603101” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] One of the nurses held captive in Iraq. IBN Live.[/caption] Another nurse, Veena, also called her home in Kerala and informed them that they are being taken to Erbil in a “big white” vehicle. Besides the driver, there is only one person who is accompanying the group. The airport is about 90 km from Mosul, where they had been taken by the rebels yesterday. The Union government has kept three aircrafts ready at three places - Kochi, Mumbai and Dubai. Bulk bookings have also been made in Iraqi airlines, so as to bring them back at short notice. The Indian embassy has been in touch with the girls and had advised them to go with the rebel representatives. Apparently there is an airport near Mosul where they were last kept, but it’s not as big as Erbil, which is well connected to Dubai and Tehran. Baghdad is about 450 km from Erbil. Forty five of the nurses are from Kerala and one from Tuticorin. Most of them, as many as 17, are from Kottayam in central Travancore. Kerala chief minister Ooman Chandy had met external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj this morning. A crisis management group had been formed at the ministry, which is coordinating the evacuation process in consultation with the Kerala government.

Iraq: Indian nurses held captive by ISIS freed, says Red Cross

The International Red Cross has confirmed to CNN-IBN that the Indian nurses in Iraq have been freed by the ISIS. Earlier in the day, Kurdish government sources had told CNN-IBN that the nurses are expected to be dropped off at Erbil airport in an hour.

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