Iraq: ISIL moves 46 Indian nurses, 5 Bangladeshis out of Tikrit hospital

ISIL militants have moved the 46 Indian nurses and five Bangladeshis out of the hospital in Tikrit where they have been stranded for the last two weeks. According to reports some of the nurses spoke to their families and confirmed they’re being moved by bus. However, there is no information about where they are being taken. [caption id=“attachment_1601685” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AP[/caption] Kerala CM Oomen Chandy confirmed that the nurses have been moved and added that there had been a blast outside the bus in which they were being transported, CNN-IBN reported. Five nurses may have been injured, unconfirmed reports claimed. Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday night, said he would be meeting External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj over the matter. Asked about the nurses being told to travel by bus, the chief minister told IANS: “Yes, I am told the people are going by bus.” Meanwhile MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said,"We are in touch with the Indian nurses even as they are moving to another location."   To Chandy’s claims he said, “He is saying what he knows. I am giving you the information that the MEA has. All I can say is they are on the road,” and added, “There are no rules, norms or free will in conflict zones." The nurses had earlier said they were frightened with the sound of explosions going off around the hospital. The Iraqi army is locked in a fierce battle with the ISIS militants to retake the city. “Bombs are exploding around the hospital all the time,” one of them said. However, earlier in the day Red Cresent had said that there was no threat to the nurses stranded in a hospital in Tikrit. Yaseen Ahmed Abbas, president of Red Crescent told CNN-IBN that the nurses were safe and unharmed. With agency inputs