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Iraq crisis
India’s push to evacuate citizens
Opens three camp offices in war-torn country
Sushma to meet Gulf envoys in Delhi today
Ashok Tuteja
Tribune News Service

Abducted workers ‘unharmed’
The MEA on Saturday said India was working on fresh leads on 39 workers abducted in Iraq
They remained ‘unharmed’ and the government was making efforts to secure their release
There were now less than 100 Indians in the conflict zone. They included the abducted workers in Mosul and 46 nurses in Tikrit

2 more warships rushed in
Two additional Naval warships were rushed to the Persian Gulf on Saturday. Sources said the Navy was asked to divert frigate INS Tarkash, which carries BrahMos super-sonic missiles, to the Persian Gulf. It will join Delhi-class destroyer INS Mysore, currently docked at a port of a friendly country. Delhi-class destroyer INS Mumbai was also dispatched from its base in India and will be positioned in the Persian Gulf.

New Delhi, June 28
India has intensified efforts to help stranded nationals leave Iraq by setting up three camp offices in the war-torn country. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has also summoned Indian envoys in Gulf states for consultations in Delhi tomorrow.

The External Affairs Ministry today said India had got some new leads on the 39 Indian construction workers abducted by Sunni militants in strife-torn Mosul city and was working on them.

MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told mediapersons that the 39 workers remained unharmed and the government was making efforts to secure their release.

An informal luncheon meeting has been organised for Indian envoys in Gulf states and the Ambassadors of Gulf states in India. The idea was to seek their views on how they could assist India in evacuating its nationals. The envoys of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Oman and Qatar have been invited.

The spokesperson said there were less than 100 Indians now in the vicinity of the conflict zone in Iraq. They included the 39 abducted Indians in Mosul and 46 nurses in Tikrit. He denied any explosion in the compound where the nurses were holed up.

India has opened camp offices at Basra, Najaf and Karbala to facilitate those who wished to return to India from Iraq. The officials posted at these three places would visit Indian nationals or their organisa tions to find out if they needed assistance for return to India.