MEA confirms abduction of 40 Indian workers in Iraq

Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Syed Akbaruddin today confirmed that 40 Indian workers in Mosul have been abducted, possibly by ISIS militants, based on information received from international agencies. Akbaruddin said that the government is working on a contingency plan and is in regular touch with humanitarian aid organisations like the Red Crescent as well as the Iraqi government. While no ransom call has been received, Akbaruddin added that there was no information on the location of the hostages. “Even the international Red Crescent is not aware of their location”, he said. Akbaruddin added that they had no idea who had carried out the abduction or the location where the workers were being held, adding that the priority at the moment was to establish contact and try and find as much information as possible. [caption id=“attachment_1576945” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image[/caption] Reports emerged earlier today that 40 Indians working as construction workers for a Turkish company were abducted by militants in Mosul. However, details of the abduction remain blurry – Akbaruddin said that there is no confirmation of the time or location from where they were kidnapped. “Information flow in an evolving situation is uncertain. I can only confirm that they’ve been kidnapped and we’r doing everything possible to bring them back safely,” he said. He also said that most of them belonged to Punjab and surrounding areas but refused to confirm any other details. Akbaruddin added that he was not in a position to give details or information on the procedural aspects of what the Indian government was doing, saying only that they were willing to work with all organisations and countries. As far as the welfare of the 40 Kerala nurses trapped in Tikrit are concerned, Akbaruddin said, “We have requested the Red Crescent to try and contact them and assure their security and welfare. Red Crescent said that they had gone met there and told them in the communication that it is not appropriate to take a surface route.” “As part of our planning (contingency planning unit in Delhi) we are working on a variety of options. Even if there are 1,2 5, 10 we are willing to assist to the best of our ability. The MEA also said that there were no plans to shut down the Indian embassy in the country. “We are not fairweather friends - we will not shut down the embassy. Our former ambassador there - Suresh Reddy - will go to Baghdad to further assist operations”, he said.