ISIS kidnapped 46 Indian male nurses and moved them from Tikrit to Mosul which is completely under its control.
The nurses were kidnapped in Tikrit in mid-June.
The nurses were moved to Mosul this week.
#BreakingNews | #MEA confirms 46 Indian nurses stranded in a #Tikrit hospital been taken to a different location by #ISIS militants. #ht"
— Aam Aadmi Group (@SLB_KR) July 3, 2014
IBN Live reported:
All the Indian nurses have been moved by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants from Tikrit to Mosul in Iraq as the second city is completely under rebels’ control. All the 46 nurses who have been moved are from Kerala.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy confirmed that there had been a blast outside the bus which was taking them although there are no reports of any casualties. “We have spoken to the Ministry of External Affairs. We don’t have enough information but they are being moved. I don’t know if any of them are injured, but there was an explosion,” said Chandy.
Chandy added that the safety of nurses was the government’s topmost priority.
MEA Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said that all 46 Indian nurses have been moved to a different location by ISIS. Akbaruddin added that all the nurses who have been moved to Mosul from Tikrit are safe, and also claimed that Indian officials were in constant touch with them.
He claimed that all Indian nationals who were in captivity in Mosul were unharmed. “There are few national in Irbil and they have indicated that they also want to leave Iraq. We are committed to help every Indian in Iraq. 1500 Indians have registered to leave Iraq from three places where mobile teams are working in Iraq. Twenty-five officials have been deployed in the conflict zone of Iraq. We have speed up the process for the departure of Indian nationals in Iraq. Till now 900 Indians have been provided tickets to come back home, It has been a difficult time for Delhi and our embassy in Iraq,” he added.