NEW DELHI: All the 39 Indians held hostage in Iraq by Islamic State militants for more than a year are "alive", External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told the families of the victims today. Swaraj, who met the families for the eighth time since the abduction of the Indians in June last year from Mosul, reassured them about the well-being of the nationals on the basis of information received from multiple sources.
The government was making all sincere efforts for the safe and early release of the Indian workers, she told the families, who were accompanied by Minister of Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Official sources said the minister also told them that though there was no "first-hand confirmation" about the wellbeing of the 39 nationals but multiple sources have indicated that they were being made to work in Iraq.
Swaraj had earlier personally spoken to her counterparts in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as well as other friendly countries in the region for their assistance in the safe release of Indians in captivity.
The minister also assured the families that as soon as some concrete proof on the well-being of the workers is received by the government, it would be shared with them.