Kidnapped Indians located: Centre

Sushma Swaraj meeting the families of some of the Punjabi workers abducted
in Iraq. In the Capital on Thursday. Rajat Gupta

SNS, New Delhi/Hyderabad, 19 June 2014:The Iraqi government has identified the location of 40 Indians kidnapped near the captured city of Mosul, the Ministry of External Affairs said today.

However, at this stage the details are still not clear as to who is behind their kidnapping. Whether it is the Sunni insurgent group ISIS or some other group is still unclear.

“The Iraqi foreign ministry has told us they have been able to determine where the Indians are held captive,” official spokesperson of the MEA, Syed Akbaruddin, said, adding that workers of other nationalities were also held captive.

Asked whether they were safe, he said, “There is no safety in captivity. Safety is in places where people are welcome. As regards their location, we have an understanding but given that the matter is underway, we won't be able to share the location or what the Iraqis have shared.” Many of the Indians are from Punjab and worked for Baghdad-based construction company Tariq Noor al-Huda. No ransom demand had been made yet, the government iterated today. The families of 12 of these workers today met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who has said, “We are doing everything a government should. I am personally supervising the efforts. We will leave no stone unturned in keeping our countrymen safe.”

About 100 Indian workers are trapped in areas overrun by the Al Qaida-inspired insurgent group ISIS, including Mosul, Iraq's second largest city.

Their relatives fear that their return would be difficult as their passports had been taken away by their employers. Mr Akbaruddin said: “Documentation is not an issue in the return and repatriation of any Indian national. Documentation can be sent by fax, other means.”

Mrs Swaraj after meeting the families of some of the abducted Indians said, “The 40 men are safe... When the situation normalises, we will try to get them released”.

The workers, employed by a Turkish construction firm, were kidnapped in Mosul, one of the cities taken over by Sunni insurgents. Meanwhile, 31 people from Telangana and two from Andhra Pradesh (Seemandhra) are at present in strife-torn Iraq, according to information received by the two state governments.

The Telangana government has received information about the presence of 31 people who may need government help, an official said.