M A I N   N E W S

17 more Indians evacuated from strife-torn Iraq
Ashok Tuteja
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 24
Seventeen more Indian nationals were evacuated from the conflict zone in Iraq on Tuesday as the government continued its efforts for the release of 39 captive construction workers, mostly from Punjab, in the strife- torn Arab nation.

MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said the 17 Indians, who were evacuated with the help of Iraqi authorities, were now in Baghdad and would be returning to India soon. There were nearly 120 Indians in the troubled zone. Sixteen were evacuated last week and one escaped from the clutches of his abductors.

There were 46 nurses stranded in Tikrit. The spokesman said there was no threat to the security of the nurses. They had sufficient amount of food-stock and nobody had tried to cause any harm to them. The authorities were in constant touch with them.

As far as 39 captive workers were concerned, he said they had not been harmed or hurt. The government was concerned about their safety. “We have been able to knock doors (in this regard) and the doors are opening,” he said.

The security of Indian nationals, both in the conflict zone and outside, remained a matter of concern to the government. The spokesman said the civilian airports in Erbil, Baghdad, Najaf and Basra were operating commercial flights and the government had issued an advisory to all Indians to return home. The government would provide them all help.