New Delhi: As the security situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate, the Indian Air Force has kept large and medium transport aircraft on standby for deployment at short notice.
According to IAF, C-130 Super Hercules is available for any emergency evacuation.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs has said that 40 Indians in Mosul are unaccountable.
The IAF is, however, yet to receive a formal request to carry out an evacuation mission.
New Delhi has issued an advisory to citizens in Iraq to leave at the earliest, using commercial means of transport. Baghdad airport remains open, and the rebel forces are still some distance away from the Iraqi capital.
The IAF has a commendable record of conducting humanitarian and evacuation missions.
Following a direction from External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, a "crisis management meeting" reviewed all aspects of the assistance that can be provided to the Indian nationals stuck in the country.
Around 46 nurses are stranded in Tikrit, besides nearly 40 other Indians in Mosul. Insurgent outfits have seized the two cities. 1,700 Iraqi Shia air force recruits feared executed
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said Swaraj was herself "monitoring and reviewing" the situation on a regular basis.
