New Delhi: The 46 nurses stranded in the war struck Iraq are handed over to Indian authorities, and are expectedto reach Kochi (Kerala) on Saturday. Earlier in the day, the nurses were given permission to call up their families back home. “Militants asked us to get ready in five minutes and said that we will be dropped at Erbil Airport,” a stranded nurse said.
The nurses had been taken away by ISIS militants from Tikrit to an old building somewhere in Mosul late on Thursday night. “We have been taken to some place that looks like an old company and have been kept in a hall. This place is near Mosul. We saw the Kirkook general hospital, and also passed the Al Jamoori Hospital. Throughout the journey the militants were nice to us- even provided food, biscuits and water. We want someone to help us,” one of the nurses had earlier said.
The news of the nurses being moved by the ISIS was confirmed by the Ministry of External Affairs as well as Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Thursday who said the Indian nurses were moved in a bus.
The Kerala chief minister has said that there was an incident outside the bus when they were getting into it and that some of them are injured. The families of the nurses have sought help from MEA.
Another group of 39 Indians remains in captivity and was “unharmed”, the External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson said. There are about 100 Indians in the conflict zone, though an exact number was not possible to give, he said. The Spokesperson said India was not alone in working for the safety of its nationals and it has partners “inside and outside Iraq”.
Meanwhile, a crisis management group has been formed to handle Iraq crisis. The group will be headed by Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj. NSA, IB chief and RAW chief will be the members of the group.
MEA has already given air tickets to nearly 1000 Indians to travel out of Iraq. 1500 Indians want to leave the country and have registered with the ministry. In Erbil also, some Indians have conveyed to MEA officers that they want to leave, the Spokesperson said.
There were about 10,000 Indians before the start of the serious strife between government troops and Sunni militants, backed by al Qaeda. The militants have captured two key cities and are marching towards Baghdad. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been displaced in the fighting that broke out on June 10.