New Delhi: India has quitely rescued another batch of 58 nurses from conflict zones in Iraq and was making all efforts to secure the release of 39 construction workers being held captive by Sunni militants ISIS in the oil-rich Gulf country.
The Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs said the 58 nurses were brought out of the conflict zone “in extremely difficult circumstances” through land route.
“Another 58 nurses have been brought out of the zone of conflict in extremely difficult circumstances but very quietly through land routes and they have come back,” he said.
He said the nurses were rescued with aid and assistance of “our friends” in Iraq but refused to share further details.
Earlier, India had rescued 46 nurses from Tikrit.
He said a total of 150 Indians were in conflict zones in the country and besides the 39 Indians in captivity and some others in “small numbers”, most of the Indian citizens were rescued.
“We will not be able to share further information of what is happening in zone of conflict as it impedes our operational ability there,” he said.
He said government was committed to ensuring that every Indian in difficulty is brought back and noted it was working at “all levels”.
There were about 10,000 Indians in Iraq before the start of the serious strife between government troops and Sunni militants backed by al Qaeda. With MEA facilitating the departures, it is estimated that there are about 6,500 Indians left in non-conflict zones. Most of these Indians are in Kurdistan and Basra.
