Fate of 39 Indians captured in Iraq still unknown

In June'14, 40 Indians were taken hostage outside the Iraqi city of Mosul; and according to the Indian government, the ISIS was suspected to be behind the incident.

The group of 40 workers were waylaid as they were being evacuated from the area as fighting intensified.

The Indian government got in touch with Iraqi officials and former Ambassador Suresh Reddy was dispatched to Mosul.

1 amongst the 40 who had been kidnapped, Harjit Masih returned alive.

He claimed that the others, mostly from Punjab, were attacked and killed by the ISIS terrorists.

Masih said, "...they put us in a room and started firing. Everyone around me fell. I kept lying there and later escaped."

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, disputed Masih's claims saying the hostages were still alive.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that the 39 Indian hostages captured by the Islamic State in June 2014 were safe.

She based her statement on recent meetings held with Arab and Palestinian leaders.

At a meeting she held with the families of those abducted, Swaraj said the Indian government was "fully and continuously engaged" and making "every possible effort" to secure their release.

The SC directed the External Affairs Ministry (MEA) to designate a nodal officer to assure better coordination with Baghdad for freeing the 39 Indians taken captive by the ISIS in 2014 in Mosul.

The ruling came after a PIL was registered by lawyer Gaurav Kumar Bansal.

He asked for MEA's intervention to hasten the process, claiming that "the abducted Indians may not be alive."

The Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi revealed that the whereabouts of the 39 Indian construction workers captured in 2014 by the Islamic State group still remains unknown.

They had been captured when IS overran Mosul.

Even though the Iraqi forces had subdued IS, the Indians are missing.

Al-Abadi said the situation was "still under investigation at the moment" and he couldn't comment any further.